Final Fantasy X2 The Return of Zell Dincht
by blitz-engel
Summary: Sequel to Final Fantasy 10 Zell's story After two years, Zell finally returns to Spira to visit his old friends. But soon this visit turns into something more. It's time to help save Spira once again this time from a machina called Vegnagun
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8 or 10-2 grins evilly> Yet.  
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**Final Fantasy**

**X-2**

**The Return of Zell Dincht**

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**Chapter 1:**

It was a sunny day in Luca. Puffy white clouds were in the sky. The sun was shining brightly. Ships were in the harbor. Something was going on at the Blitzball stadium. Because there were several hundred people trying to hurry in through the doors. Some were chanting merrily about Lady Yuna in concert. And they were standing outside smiling up at the large globe. "So this is Spira, huh?" The third one asked. The blonde young man, standing in front smiled even brighter.

It had been two full years since he had last been here. Several memories were flooding his mind already. It was great to be home. At least his second home anyway. Even though he hadn't been born in Spira, it would forever be his second home. He wondered if everyone even remembered him. He wondered if his beautiful Al Bhed girl was still waiting for him to return. He could only hope so. Zell Dincht sighed happily as he looked up towards the Luca Stadium. He glanced over his shoulder at the two young men standing behind them. He gave them a nod. "Yeah. This is Spira. This is my second home. We're in a city called Luca."

The first one he was looking at was wearing black combat looking pants and a white shirt with a short sleeved jacket. One each sleeve was a red imprint of Griever. He had dark brown hair that was slightly longer that it had once been and stormy blue eyes. He looked very serious. A necklace around his neck. And clipped to his waist was a strange looking weapon, a Gunblade. His name was Squall Leonhart Loire.

The other was a cowboy looking young man. He wore dark brown over coat over his dark brown duster pants, with blue jeans under them and a sleeveless dark blue vest. A black cowboy hat with a yellow Chocobo feather sticking out of it. He had long ginger brown hair that fell to his upper back, but was pulled into a pony tail. His eyes were soft blue. A stub of a hair on his chin. Hidden under his overcoat was his weapon, a shot gun. He was Irvine Kinneas.

"It must be great being back for you, Zell. Ya sure everyone is going to remember you? It has only been two years and they didn't know you that long?" The cowboy asked. Zell sighed looking back towards the stadium. "Let's only hope so, Irv. I hope my girl is still waiting for me. I didn't mean to make her wait so long." He said starting to walk. Squall and Irvine followed. Zell wanted to find out if the rumors were true. Had Yuna, his good friend, the one he traveled with and protected during their pilgrimage, really become something called a songstress? He supposed he had better find out for himself. He looked back at Squall Leonhart and Irvine Kinneas and nodded. They nodded back and they walked right up the stairs right into the large dark arena which was packed with Yuna's fans. 

Zell, himself, had changed over the last two years. He was stronger and he had grown an inch taller. His hair was still the same though his bangs were a little longer and he had a small braid behind one ear of his sort of long but short hair. (Think Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Ep. 1) He still had his tattoo on the side of his face. He even changed his style of cloths a little.

He wore dark blue pants which was actually from his SeeD uniform. And he wore a black tank top under a new styled jacket. It was a little like his old one. Only one sleeve was long and the other short. It was red and black. He wore the same old style of shoes though. And he still had his same old but powerful fighting gloves on his hands. An arm guard on his bare arm.

Zell and his two friends looked around for a seat and found three near the stairway going down. They went over and took a seat. He was close enough to the center where the stage was going to be. The blonde Seed sat down and rest his elbows on his knees. Irvine sat next to him while Squall just stood looking around interestedly. They waited for the concert to start, which wasn't long because the lights dimmed and lights turned on in the center.

The stage began to rise and it was on the top of this big statue with giant drumsticks in it's hands. Huge drums hovered right in front of it. The stage looked transparent. Like it was made out light and not solid. And standing right in the center was Yuna in her Summoner's outfit. Music began to boom and she began walking like she was a fashion model. All three watched with interest. Someone began to sing as light surrounded Yuna and her outfit began to change.

"_What can I do for you,_

_What can I do for you, _

_What can i do for you_

_What can i do for you_

_What can i do for you_

_What can i do for you_

_I can hear you"_

Zell's jaw dropped after seeing what Yuna was wearing now. It was the strangest outfit he had ever seen. It was mostly blue with white lace. One side was very short and black, the other lacey and white. It was sleeveless and Yuna looked very good in it. She began to dance as a microphone appeared in her hand. Irvine grinned his usual cheezy grin. "Hey, she's cute." He then whistled. Zell jabbed the cowboy in the side and watched.

"_What can i do for you_

_What can i do for you_

_What can i do for you"_

Then she began to sing over the cheers and applause. Zell smiled as he watched. His friend had changed a lot since he last seen her. "She's real good, Zell." Squall whispered to him. Zell looked up at him and nodded. They went back to listening.

"_Far beneath the hazy boarders of my heart_

_I can see a place_

_It's something like this_

_Every now and then I don't know what to do_

_Still I know that I_

_Can never go back"_

"_All the things I've seen_

_In those hazy dreams_

_Can't compare to what I see tonight_

_Everythings so different_

_That it brings me to my knees"_

Squall then saw something happening not too far from where he and the other two were sitting. He saw two people fighting a balcony half away from him. A girl was facing a guard and she had just pounded him down. He looked at Zell. "Zell." He said. Zell looked up and then over to where Squall nodded to. He couldn't really see who it was but he knew something was wrong.

Was there going to be an assassination attempt on Yuna? Who in the name of Hyne would try and kill Yuna! Panic racked inside of him and he stood making his way down the stairs to get to the person in the balconey. Irvine and Squall quickly followed behind him.

"_And oh, I know, the world of Real Emotion_

_Has surrounded me_

_I won't give into it_

_Now I know, that world_

_It is the only way my heart can go_

_I hear your voice calling out to me_

_You'll never be alone"_

"_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_I can hear you"_

"_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you"_

"_I don't plan on looking back on my own life_

_I don't ever plan_

_To feel I own you_

_Even if by chance everything should go wrong_

_You come in one day_

_And try to save me"_

_If from time to time_

_It's an upward climb_

_All I know is that I must believe_

Cause the truth I'm seeking 

Always was inside of me

Zell, Squall and Irvine were just climbing into the balconey where the girl had been. They climbed right over the railing and looked around for who ever had attacked the guard. Zell's eyes went wide when he looked at the unconscious man. This man wasn't like the other security guards. He was different. He wore a strange outfit. And there was no sign of the girl. "What's going on, Zell?" Irvine asked. Zell shook his head as he looked around again. "I don't know but I think Yuna might be in danger." Squall grabbed the handle of his gunblade. "Squall, don't." Zell whispered to him. "If we pull our weapons out right now, they'll think we're trying to harm Yuna." Squall nodded.

_And when, I find, the world of Real Emotion_

_Has surrounded me_

_The many things that you_

_Taught me then_

_Will always be enough to get me through the pain_

_Because of you I am strong enough_

_To know I'm not alone_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_I can hear you_

_And if, I find, the real without the motion_

_Has surrounded me_

_And I can't go on_

_And you are there_

_The moment that I close my eyes_

_You comfort me_

_We are connected_

_For all of time_

_I'll never be alone_

Zell looked around to see if he could spot her and he did. She was on one of the hover crafts that carried the musicians. She had flown all the way to the other side and was picking up another girl, wearing black leather. There was something about that girl. Something familiar.

_And oh, I know, the world of Real Emotion_

_Has surrounded me_

_I won't give into it_

_Now I know, that world_

_It is the only way my heart can go_

_I hear your voice calling out to me_

_You'll never be alone_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_I can hear you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_I can hear you_

_I can hear you"_

Zell, Squall and Irvine watched the two girls fly over to the stage and jump off facing Yuna. They were now pushing their way down to the center so they could attempt to cross and protect Yuna. Yuna was still dancing as they faced her. Because of the light on the stage, They could see what they looked like from behind. One was a blonde and the other was a pepper colored girl. And he heard Yuna speak to them because of the microphone.

"You want in on this number? Then show me your moves!" She said but it wasn't her vice. It was someone else's. That made Zell stop in his tracks, making Squall and Irvine stop. "Zell? What is it?" The gunblader asked. Zell's eyes were wide. "That's not Yuna." He whispered. Squall and Irvine looked at each other. "Who is she then?" Irvine asked. Zell shook his head. They watched the two girls fight 'Yuna' and two of those weird guards.

After the battle 'Yuna' threw down a bag full of powder and had vanished. Zell turned quickly and raced out of the stadium. Irvine and Squall hurried after him.

They heard someone yelling and could hear someone fighting. The three quickly ran forward and found the blonde and the pepper fighting several of the guards. And when Zell got to see the blonde's face. His heart had nearly jumped to his throat. It was Rikku! Only she had a different style of outfit. Zell smiled seeing his beloved Al Bhed. They were looking around for someone. "Rikku?" He whispered.

If Zell, Squall and Irvine hadn't been hiding behind some crates and boxes, then large man wearing purple and the dorkiest outfit they had ever seen, would have seen them. "You run too fast!" Rikku exclaimed. He and another man walked right up to Rikku and the other girl. "Your too slow, little girl." The tall thin man said coming from behind the two.

"Show's over!" The large man cried. Rikku winced. "Yeowch." She said. The pepper haired girl turned and ran down a dock. "This way!" She cried out. Rikku quickly followed after her. The two men raced after her laughing evilly. Zell was just about to go out and help them but was held back by Squall. "Look." He said calmly.

A battle began between the woman and the three girls. Yuna's outfit changed again into the same outfit the fake Yuna had worn in the concert. She began to dance and somehow blind had been cast on the woman while Yuna was dancing. Zell watched with awe. This was the most interesting thing he had ever seen.

Finally the girls had defeated the thief. "I won't let you off so easily next time!" The woman yelled as she ran away with her two goons. Yuna kept on dancing while Rikku started to run after the three thieves. "Get back here!" She yelled. The pepper girl was watching Yuna. "Rikku." She called. Rikku turned around and they watched Yuna dancing around.

Zell was grinning ear to ear. He was thinking about just running up to them and throwing his arms around Rikku but another plan formed in his mind. He had decided he would rather surprise them. He looked at Irvine and Squall. "Let's surprise them." He told them. They nodded. They looked over when a large red airship suddenly flown down and parked in the harbor so the girls could board. The three made a mad dash for the ship being careful they weren't seen. They aboard very quickly and stealthy. Just like the SeeDs they were. The SeeDs decided to hide in the engine room for now. Zell and the two would reveal themselves later.

As Zell sat there, whispering to Squall and Irvine, telling them about the girls were in the engine room and trying to think of a way to surprise Rikku, there was a loud announcement and an alarm that startled the SeeDs just a little. Zell then recognized the voice of Brother, the one Al Bhed that didn't like Zell too much. He shook his head. "That's Brother. He's weird." He told them. Squall and Irvine nodded. Brother was speaking in Al Bhed so they couldn't really tell what he was saying. Until he spoke in perfect English. "Gullwings! Report to the bridge!"

Zell didn't know what the hell was a Gullwing but he decided he wanted to find out. He left the engine room with Squall and Irvine, being very careful not to get seen. Going into the elevator they took it to the bridge floor and crept in the doorway looking in. There they were. The three girls and three guys. Zell recognized Brother. Still tattooed all over his body as he was two years ago. It made the SeeD roll his eyes. He pointed. "That's Brother." He whispered. Irvine rose an eyebrow. "Awkward looking fellar, isn't he?" Squall just remained quiet.

Another young man was sitting next to the pilot's seat. Apparently he was the navigator. "Treasure sphere waves! They're coming from those ruins they found at Gagazet." He said. Rikku cheerfully pumped her fists. "All right!" Then there was a kid sitting in another chair. He was wearing a thick suit the covered his entire body and didn't show any skin.

"Next stop! Mt. Gagazet!" Brother yelled as he hopped into the seat. Zell saw the pepper haired girl turning around so he ducked back down, pulling Irvine and Squall with, down the hall hurrying towards the elevator. There wouldn't be any places to hide if one of them came up the stairs.

As they sped walked, they heard them talking. "Paine? What is it?" Yuna asked out loud. There was a silence. "Nothing. I just thought I saw something that's all." The pepper haired girl said. But Zell and the other two didn't stay to listen longer. They returned to the engine room and waited. "Well that was a close one. If we would've been caught, that wouldn't have been much a surprise for your girl." Irvine said. Squall nodded. "Not to mention they might just fight us without realizing who Zell was. I must admit. They're good." Zell nodded with a smile. "They've gotten better since we last fought. Fighting Sin was very hard." He told them.

Finally after a while, the announcement came. "Gullwings! We have arrived to Mt. Gagazet!" Brother called over the intercom. Again, Zell, Squall, and Irvine hurried to the bridge to listen to them speak. "Hey! The rocks are floating!" Yuna said excitedly. Rikku gave a loud moan. "Don't tell me we have to climb up that thing." She whined. Zell almost laughed out loud. Rikku was still the same even after two years. She hated climbing up things. Stairs, mountains anything. She hated it. "No worries! I'll take you right to the top." The unfamiliar man said.

Zell looked over and spotted extra pair of comlinks and ear piece. He quickly snatched three of them and stuffed it into his pocket then dashed down the hall to the elevator. He and the other two took it right to the deck and hid near the side. Then they watched the airship drop Yuna, Rikku and the other girl off before flying up ward. Zell was trying to think of how he was going to get down. As he looked down, he hooked up the ear piece into his ear and began listening to what they were saying. He quickly handed Squall and Irvine one so they could wear. 

"_You want me to hurt him?"_ He heard the last girl ask.

Zell looked down and nearly jumped with shock. Yuna was hanging over the side and the other two were trying to pull her up.

_"That'd be great!"_ Zell heard Rikku cry out. Then they pulled Yuna up to safety. They had began to walk and the airship hovered closer as if to try and keep watch on the three girls.

Zell found this the opportunity to jump near a ledge, hopefully it wouldn't give out when he, Squall and Irvine did. So he took the chance on jumping which he landed perfectly. Squall and Irvine followed quickly. They had to lean against the side for a minute to catch their breath then began climbing. As they did, they heard someone speaking in Al Bhed. By the sound of it, it was the navigator.

"_Well, well. Look what we have here." _The navigator said over the comlink. Zell kept on climbing not heisitating one bit. So did Squall. Irvine had paused but then followed.

_"What is it, Buddy?" _Yuna's voice called over. The blonde SeeD pulled himself up and then helped Squall up then Irvine. The three then looked up seeing the airship hovering far above them but it was obvious they had been spotted.

"_Looks like we may have picked up a couple of stowaways in Luca. There's three guys down there with you girls." _Buddy said over the comlink. _"Who are they, Buddy?" _Zell heard Rikku. The airship moved a little closer. The three SeeDs quickly stood and began ducking out of view.

_"I'm not sure, but they're trying to hide from us. Better keep an eye out for them." _Buddy said. _"If we see them, they'll just get hurt. I don't like being followed. Especially if they're sphere hunters looking for our sphere." _ Zell heard the last girl said angrily.

Zell grinned as he kept himself from talking. Irvine smirked as he wrapped his hand around the mouthpiece. "Kinda sure of herself, isn't she?" He asked. Zell shrugged. Squall just smirked. "I like her style. She's very cautious. She would probably make a good SeeD." He said. Zell grinned. He would like to see what kind of fighter this girl was.

He lead Squall and Irvine up another trail he knew the girls weren't taking. He hoped he could catch up with them some time. At least enough where he could see them. There was a small static going on so he missed a few things that the girls said but he was sure he heard them screaming at one point. Squall grabbed his shoulder to calm him down. "Don't worry about them right now, Zell. They're fine." He nodded to where the three girls were.

They began to hurry along the path finally catching a glimpse of a few guards they recognized from Luca. The ones that tried to hurt Zell's girl. They were apparently waiting for the girls to run into them. "Hm. You think your gonna hurt my girls, your dead wrong." Zell muttered. Irvine nodded. "Let's pay them a visit." He said. Squall nodded. He walked out from his little hiding spot and stood behind them. Zell and Irvine followed. Zell gave a sharp whistle making them jump.

"Huh! What the!" One cried out as they turned around. They spotted the blonde SeeD and his two friends just standing there grinning wickedly. "Hey there. Maybe you could help me. I lost the trail and I'm looking for three gorgeous babes wandering around. You haven't by any chance seen them, have you?" Zell asked. "Uh…." One paused.

"Hey, are you one of the Gullwings?" The other asked. Zell nodded with a grin. "Only if you say so. If you mean if I'm with Yuna and her crew, then yeah sort of." He said. The two growled. "It's the Gullwings! Let's get them!" They both charged at the SeeDs who ducked under their weapons and Zell sent a fist nailing one in the stomach. Squall threw out his own fist and punched the other guard hard in the face while Irvine threw the butt of his shotgun up and hit the other in the chin. The guards cried out airlessly and fell into a heap. Zell stood straight and looked down at the guards.

"No one messes with my girls." He turned and ran down the path. Irvine smirked. "Two girls for Zell, eh? Mind sharing?" He asked. Zell gave him a dirty look. He heard someone screaming again and the three looked way up above him. They spotted three people hanging off the cliff side. It was that one lady who imposed as Yuna in Luca and her thugs. They were trying to climb up. "We're gonna fall, boss! Pull us up!" The fat boy begged. "Oh shut up! I can't even pull myself up with you two hanging on my ankles!" The boss snapped. "Sorry, Boss." Both men whined.

Zell sighed with annoyance and shook his head. "Even though they tried to hurt Rikku and Yuna, I have to do something." He muttered and rose his hand. Squall nodded. He rose his own hand as Irvine did. Just then a strong breeze began to blow around Zell, Squall and Irvine. The dust picked up heavily around them and the wind spell blasted out of each of their hands aiming at the three.

They watched as the spells hit the three making them fly up and on to the ledge. Zell gave a nod just as he lead Squall and Irvine when they heard someone yelling near by. The SeeDs, again, turned around and looked to see what it was. At first they couldn't see anything. So the three walked into the direction they heard the yelling.

They found that the source was Brother. Brother must have got impatient and came down himself to find the girls. And right at the moment, he was being attacked by some fiends. Zell's eyes lit up as he reacted quickly. He jumped down ledge from ledge to get down to Brother just as he got hit in the chest by one of the fiends. Squall and Irvine quickly followed just as Zell landed right in between them and sent his fist nailing it hard in the head. They landed beside him with their weapons ready. "Fryd!" Brother gasped as he sat up. Neither one didn't turn around. They kept fighting the fiends that were attacking.

One had some how got past them and went for Brother. Brother gave a loud fearful cry and rose his arm above his head to protect himself. But the fiend never got to him. Because the blonde martial artist heard him cry out and turned around in time to catch it by the tail and pulled it back. Zell swung it over his shoulder and slammed it into the ground. It burst into pyreflies.

Finally the SeeDs had gotten rid of all of them. They turned around to see Brother but sweatdropped because Brother had fainted. "Brother, you are a bigger wimp than me." Zell muttered. Irvine rose an eyebrow. "Man, what is wrong with that guy?" He asked. Squall shook his head. "Like Zell said. He's just weird." He said. Zell shook his head and went over and grabbed the Al Bhed's arms and hauled him over his shoulder. He began carrying Brother over to the edge and looked up. _"Brother! Mission Complete!" Rikku_ called onto the comlink.

"_Brother! He's not with you!"_ Buddy exclaimed. There were a few cries on the comlink. _"What do you mean he's not with us! Why isn't he up there with you!" _Rikku gasped. Zell grinned as he listened to her. _"He jumped to find you guys. He was a little worried when Yuna said disasteriffic." _Buddy announced. _"I guess we better look for him." _Zell heard the one girl say.

Zell tapped his comlink. "No need to. I've got him." He said into the comlink. There was a long silence. _"Who is that! I swear if you hurt Brother, I'll kick your butt!" _Rikku exclaimed. Zell burst with laughter on what his old friend said. He even laughed on the comlink. "Hey, hey, Rik. I'm not going to hurt him. I swear. Just have the airship come pick us up so I can get this heavy dude off my shoulders." He said. _"Alright. Buddy, pick them up first. Then come get us." _Yuna told the navigator. _"Okay, Yuna." _

The airship had found them. It opened up it's hatch to let the three climb in. The navigator and Al Bhed kid looked a little worried. "Hey, what did you do to him?" Buddy asked seriously. Zell shook his head. "Nothing. He got attacked by some fiends. I saved his butt before he fainted." He said. The other two nodded. Both Al Bheds looked dully at him. "That sounds like Brother all right." The boy said. Buddy nodded and waved his hand to them.

"Bring him this way." He told him. Zell nodded and followed him, with Squall and Irvine silently following. They went to the bridge and Zell put Brother down right there. He looked around as Buddy hopped into the pilot's seat. "Now we'll just pick up the girls. Don't go anywhere though. They want to talk to you and find out who you guys are." The navigator said. Squall just nodded and went over to the side into the shadows and leaned against the wall. Zell went over and stood next to him while Irvine went to the other side and looked out the window. "This is sure a big airship." Buddy looked at him. "It's nice though, you have to admit that." The cowboy just nodded.

Finally the three girls hurried into the bridge and spotted Brother on the ground. "He said something about Yuna being in trouble, then he just jumped ship." Buddy said dully. "And here he is." The boy said. Rikku ran down the stairs and stood over Brother. "He's alive, right? Just leave him there." Rikku told them.

Zell was smiling as he listened. "Can you analyze the sphere we found?" the pepper haired girl asked. "I'm on it." The boy said taking the sphere from her and hurried over to where Zell was standing. Brother began to moan as if he was in pain. Yuna walked over to Brother and looked him over.

"Well anyway, the stowaways from earlier brought him back. They saved his butt from some fiends." Buddy said nodding over to where Zell and Squall were. All three girls looked over and spotted Zell. They looked at Squall next and then Irvine. Zell was keeping his face tilted so they couldn't see his tattoo. He wanted to see if they could recognize him first. "Huh? Who are you?" The pepper girl said. Zell grinned the same cheeky grin he gave Yuna and Rikku two years ago when he left Spira. He saw their eyes lit up with surprise.

Zell turned his face fully so they could see the tattoo now. "I'm hurt, Yunie and Rikku. You've forgotten all about me? I think I'm going to cry." He said. Rikku's jaw fell as well as Yuna's. "Zell!" they both gasped. Brother's eyes opened and he looked over at the SeeD. The others had confusion in their eyes. Zell stepped out of the shadows and smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8 or 10-2**

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**Chapter 2.  
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"Hey, how's my girls?" He asked holding out his arms. Rikku gave a shrill squeal and ran over to Zell, stepping on Brother's forbidden area in the process. Brother gave a loud squeal of pain. But no one paid any attention. They just watched Rikku run over and leap into Zell's arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and hugged him tightly as he hugged her. Zell spun them both around laughing with happiness. Yuna was laughing with tears in her eyes. Squall shook his head and ignored the looks he was getting. "Oh, my gosh! I can't believe it's you!" She cried out. Zell turned a little so he could see her. Rikku dropped down but still kept her arms around Zell. "Hey, of course it's me, Yuna. I told you I was coming back. Especially for my beautiful little Al Bhed." He said touching Rikku's chin with his knuckles. Rikku blushed and hugged him tighter. She released him and stepped back. Zell held out an arm to Yuna. "What, no hug for an old friend?" He asked with a pout on his face.

Yuna laughed and hurried forward throwing her arms around him and hugging him. "It's so great to see you, Zell!" She said happily. Zell released her and nodded. "I'm glad to be back." He said. Then there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. They all looked at the last girl. She had her arms folded and a look on her face.

Yuna gasped lightly and covered her mouth. "Oh! I'm so sorry! Zell, this is Paine. Paine, this is Zell. He was one of my Guardians when I was on my pilgrimage." She said. Paine's eyes lit up just a little. Zell looked at Squall and Irvine. "Hey, Yunie, Rikku. I better introduce you to these guys before they decide to pound my ass." Everyone laughed. "These are my best friends, the ones I've told you about, Squall Leonhart." Zell said. Squall turned fully towards them and saluted them the SeeD salute. Everyone nodded. "Nice to meet you." Squall said. Yuna nodded. "Same to you." She looked at Irvine. "And that's Irvine Kinneas, the chocobo expert." Zell told them. Irvine grinned and reached out to take their hands. "Hey, ladies." He gave them a wink. Yuna and Rikku both blushed. Zell jabbed Irvine's side. "You try and moves on my girl and your dead." Everyone laughed again. Squall and Paine just rolled their eyes.

Buddy and the boy grinned. "Well, this is something then." Buddy said walking forward. He held out his hand to shake Zell's, who took it. "I'm Buddy. That's Shinra." Zell nodded to them both. "You don't have to introduce that dude. I know him." He said looking at Brother who was still whining about Rikku stepping on him. Shinra turned in his seat. "Analysis complete. Wanna watch the sphere?" He asked. Yuna nodded and the girls walked over to him. Rikku grabbed Zell's arm and pulled him closer. "Come on, Zell! Let's watch it!" She said. Yuna looked at Squall and Irvine. "You can see it too if you want." She told them. Squall and Irvine nodded as they moved over. They bent over the kid and looked at the screen.

It was a nice view of Zanarkand. Zell gave a sharp intake of breath as he saw it. "Zanarkand?" He asked. Squall looked at him. "That's the city you told us about?" He asked. Zell nodded. Irvine tilted his hat back. "Wow. It really does look like Esthar." They turned their attention back to the screen.

"_I can't believe I actually got a ticket! What a thrill, to be able to shake her hand like that!" _They heard. The sphere ended. "Well, that was a short movie." Irvine said moving back. Yuna looked at the others. "Think its worth anything?" She asked. Rikku crinkled her nose. "It's not very exciting." She said. Paine shook her head looking frustrated and turned to walk to the other side of the ship. "Junk." Shinra turned in his seat. "But we can use it as a dressphere." He said. He took a small tool to the sphere then handed it to Yuna.

Zell looked at the girls. "Dressphere?" He asked. Rikku nodded jumping up and down. "Yeah! They are so cool! Shinra invented these grids and we can change into different types of people!" She said happily. Irvine stared at her. "That sounds weird." He said. Squall folded his arms and leaned back a little before looking at the cowboy. "Remember that Yuna imposter from the concert? Her cloths changed in front of everyone." He told them. Yuna nodded. "That's what our dresspheres do. That would be the songstress dressphere. We have a thief and warrior dressphere." She told them. The blonde SeeD looked surprised. "You mean your cloths actually change in front of everyone when you use them?" He asked.

Irvine's eyes lit up. "Does that mean they become naked!" He asked with a tone of excitement. Everyone looked at him with surprise. "What?" Irvine asked. Zell growled. "Get your mind outta the gutter, Irvine!" Then he slugged him in the arm. Irvine yelped and rubbed his arm. Squall rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Don't mind Irvine. He just acts stupid most of the time." He told the girls. "Hey!" Irvine whined.

Suddenly there was an alarm going off. Buddy turned around and raced over to his seat. He looked over his controls. He hopped into his seat. "Incoming data. Gullwings, to your stations." He said. Everyone hurried over to where he was. "How long do you plan on lying there?" He asked. Brother gave a groan and got up. "Excuse me" He said sarcastically and went over to his seat. Paine looked at the three newcomers. "So, what do we do about them?" she asked. Zell looked at her. Brother turned around and looked at him. He examined Zell for a minute before growling. "We throw HIM overboard!" He ordered pointing his finger at him.

Zell's eyes went wide and he stepped back. Squall and Irvine looked surprised but serious. They gave Brother a look as if daring to even try throwing them out. Both Rikku and Yuna gasped. "What!" They cried out. "Uh, Brother, Zell just saved your butt from becoming a fiend. Along with his friends. And now your saying we throw them off the ship?" Buddy asked. Brother pointed a finger at Zell. "He made Rikku cry! I warned you to take care of her and not break her heart!" He yelled. Zell looked at Rikku with wide eyes. "I…I made you cry?" He asked with worry. Rikku shook her head. "No! I only cried because I missed you! That's all! But I knew you were coming back! You promised and here you are!" She said throwing her arm around Zell. Zell smiled and nodded. Brother began jumping and down with rage. "He cannot stay! He goes! He goes! He goes!" He cried out. Yuna frowned with annoyance. "Very well. He'll go." She said. Everyone looked at her. 

"Huh? Yunie!" Rikku cried out. Yuna looked at Zell who still looked surprised. "Zell and his friends have to leave the ship. But I'm going with them. If Zell and his friends go, then so do I." She said. Rikku smiled and nodded. "Yeah, me too!" She said. Brother gave a squeak as his shoulders slouched. Buddy was smirking with Paine. "I suppose that'll go for me too." She announced. Buddy nodded. "Well, I'm sorry, Brother. But you think I'm going to let the girls be alone with the big bad rescuers, your wrong." He said teasingly.

Shinra shrugged. "Hey, your not going to leave me with him are you?" He asked smugly. Rikku grinned. "Well, you're welcome to come along, Shinra." She said. Shinra nodded. "Okay!" He said happily. They all stood behind Zell, Squall and Irvine with their arms crossed. Brother looked at each before waving his arms above his head. "Okay, okay! I have changed my mind! They can stay on the ship! But they must work!" He said. Everyone laughed and nodded. "Alright. We'll help out on the ship." Zell said. Buddy hurried over to his seat and hopped into it. "So what is it?" Yuna asked looking over his shoulder. "The treasure sphere data you've been dying for. There's at least one on Besaid Island…and another in the Zanarkand ruins." He said. Rikku nodded. "So where to?" She asked looking at Yuna. Yuna looked at her and smiled. "Besaid." 

They all began walking around. "So, what are you guys doing?" Zell asked. Rikku smiled brightly. "We're looking for treasure spheres. We're sphere hunters now." She told him. Zell still looked a little confused. Yuna nodded. "I see." She glanced over to Shinra. "Shinra, can you please start the first sphere?" She asked. Shinra nodded. "Sure thing." He said and began pushing buttons. Zell, Squall and Irvine walked over and looked at the screen.

It was black at first but then something started up. It was dark but they could see a young man in a cage. The camera was looking at him and he was yelling. _"No! I'm not sorry! I didn't do anything wrong! I know your listening. If she was your girl, what would you do? How can you blame me for trying to use your weapon. It was the only way I could do to save the summoner. Let me out! I want to see her!" _The young man turned and went to sit down.

Zell stared with a look on his face. "Tidus?" He whispered. Squall looked at him. "That's your friend? The one you told me about?" He asked. Rikku nodded. "It looks like him, doesn't it?" She asked. Zell folded his arms. Yuna blinked. "Hey, that reminds me. Why did you take so long in coming back anyways?" She asked. Zell and Squall looked at each other. "Oh. Well, we've run into big trouble since I returned. There's a new hotshot guy trying to take over Gaia. So we were kind of taking care of him. He's still at large though. But the others are going to take care of him, then they were going to follow us in the portal between our worlds." The blonde said. Yuna and Rikku smiled and nodded. But Paine looked confused. "Wait? They're from a different world? How is that possible?" She asked. They all looked at her. "Uh….well, that's a little hard to explain." Zell rubbed his head as he tried to think of how to explain it.

"When I first came to Spira, Sin had brought me. It wanted me to help Yuna and her Guardians get rid of him. The Fayth were responsible too. They had used their power to create a portal between the twin moons, Spira and Gaia. Our worlds. Even if they're gone from Spira, they still were in Gaia. Bahamut told all that to me once I asked him, when I got back to Garden." He said looking at Yuna and Rikku. The two girls nodded with smiles.

Zell frowned again folding his arms. "But something's going on." The girls blinked. "Huh? What?" Rikku asked. Squall shook his head. "Bahamut, Ifrit, and Shiva's disappeared. We don't know where they went." He told them. The girls looked surprised. Zell nodded. "Just last week, Squall woke up and nearly went berserk. He told me that he couldn't find Bahamut. I asked Diablos about it and he doesn't know either." He told them. Yuna looked confused. "What do you think it could be?" She asked folding her own arms. Irvine shook his head again. "We're not sure and neither is the GFs. They said when Bahamut, Ifrit and Shiva disappeared, they felt them just vanish. We had all of the GFs searching Gaia for the three. But they completely disappeared." He shook his head.

Zell nodded. "So that was then I decided to come back to Spira. I wasn't ready quite yet. I was still in heavy duty training and not to mention, and some of my students have been going weird." They all looked thoughtful. "How so?" Yuna asked. "There's been a few kids who were having nightmares. They were dreaming about Spira, Yuna. I don't know how but they were. " Zell said. He blew out sigh and smiled. "Anyway, I decided to do a new look and come straight to Spira to have some fun with my old friends." He held out his arms. "So how do I look? Do I look hot?" Squall and Irvine rolled their eyes. "Hey, I'm hotter than you." The cowboy said. He ducked as Zell swung a fist at his head.

Yuna and Rikku smiled. "Well, we're happy that you're here, Zell. We've missed you. So has Wakka and the Aurochs." The brunette said. Zell smiled as his eyes lit up. "Hey! That reminds me! How are they doing anyway!" He asked.

Both Rikku and Yuna looked slyly at each other with smiles. "Oh, Wakka and Lulu are doing fine. Before I left Besaid, I had heard that Lulu was going to have Wakka's baby." Yuna said. Zell's eyes lit up with surprise and his jaw fell before he grinned. "Oh, that sly dog. So he and Lulu, huh? They make a cute couple. I just hope Wakka can handle Lulu." He said. Both girls giggled. "Hey! We've made it to Besaid!" Buddy said over his shoulder. Yuna, Rikku, Paine and the three SeeDs looked at him and nodded. "Alright. We'll go down right now." Yuna said. She looked at Zell, Squall and Irvine. "And Zell and his friends are coming with us."

Brother leapt up from his chair and spun around. "Fryd! (What!) Why do they get to go and not me!" He cried out. Rikku rolled her eyes. "Would you rather have Zell stay on the ship and brag how a better pilot he is?" She asked. Brother looked ready to explode. Zell folded his arms and gave Brother a skeptical look. "I taught you how to fly, remember?" He asked. Brother pouted and sat back down not daring to say anything. Everyone just laughed.

The six young adults walked towards the entrance of the tropical looking village. The three SeeDs was so amazed of how beautiful Besaid was. It was so green and had the fresh smell of the ocean. It was just so peaceful and nice. And better yet, people were actually smiling with nothing to fear. Zell glanced over at Yuna who had this thoughtful look on her face. "I'm a little nervous." She whispered. Rikku nodded stepping over to her. "I bet, the way you took off without a word." She said. Zell stared at them. "Am I missing something?" He asked.

Yuna looked at him with a small pained look. "Well……when I left and joined the Gullwings, I didn't tell Wakka and Lulu where I was going." She said. Zell nodded slowly looking at Squall who looked thoughtful. "Well, then you and Squall in the same boat." He said. The three girls looked at Squall. "Huh? How so?" Yuna asked. Squall sighed and shook his head. He just turned away. Zell and Irvine rolled their eyes and shook their heads. "He's doing the cold shoulder thing again." They both said at the same time.

The cowboy looked at the three curious girls. "Squall and his dad don't get along too well right at the moment. It's been two in a half years since we've defeated Ultimecia, Zell told you about. We've always thought Squall was an orphan like us, right?" He asked. Yuna and Rikku nodded while Paine just stood there.

"Well, he kind of just found out, a year ago, that his dad's still alive and he's been Laguna Loire the whole time. I told you about him, remember?" He asked. Yuna and Rikku looked at each other for a minute then nodded. "Yes. We remember." Squall just continued to stay quiet as he let Zell explain. "Well, Squall's not to happy about having Laguna as his dad. Laguna's really clutzy and…..well, a lot of people thinks he's a moron." He said. Yuna looked surprised. "Oh! That's not very nice. You said he was a real nice man." Zell nodded. "Yeah. He's real nice. I like him because he's that way. You don't meet a lot of people like that. Squall's just still trying to get over the shock of having a dad that he never really knew, you know." He said. Rikku nodded. "Sounds okay." She said. She looked back at Yuna. "Anyway, everyone is going to be surprised when we come walking in."

"Yeah, you said it." Someone called. All six young adults turned and spotted Wakka standing at the entrance with a grin on his face. Yuna, Rikku and Zell smiled and shook their heads as they lead the other three towards him. "You caused quite a fuss, young lady." Wakka scolded playfully. Yuna smiled softly. "I'm sorry." She told him. Wakka shrugged. "Well, as long as you're okay, ya?" He turned his eyes onto Zell and they grew wide with shock. Zell grinned and folded his arms behind his head. "Hey, Wakka. Long time, no see." He said. Wakka smirked before throwing his arm around Zell's neck, putting him a headlock.

"Ack! Wakka!" The blonde gasped. Wakka rubbed his fist on Zell's head fiercely giving him a noogie! "I just knew you were going to be back! I knew it! I told Lu that you were and here you are, ya!" He said happily. Zell wriggled free from his friend's arm and rubbed his head. "Well, I promised that I would come back. You think I was going to leave you all hanging?" He asked. Wakka shook his head. "Nah. That wouldn't be like you to just leave and don't come back." He looked at Paine, Squall and Irvine. "Hmm? Your friends?" He asked. The three looked at the other three.

"Oh, that's Paine. We're looking for spheres together." Yuna said motioning to Paine. Paine just gave a nod of greeting. Zell quickly pointed at his two friends. "And that's Squall and Irvine. I've told you about them." He said. Wakka looked surprised. "Oh, yeah! I remember now. Wow, this is a surprise." He held out hand to Squall first. "Hey there! Welcome to Spira." He said cheerfully. Squall looked at Wakka's hand then looked away. Zell laughed shaking his head. "Squall doesn't shake hands remember?" He asked. Wakka nodded then offered his hand to Irvine who shook it heartily. "Nice to meet ya, Wakka. Zell's told us all about you once he got back." He said. Wakka nodded. He nodded for them all to follow.

"So you're all sphere hunters now…I heard the rumors. To tell you the truth, I wasn't too worried. Gotta say, though. You, uh, do seem pretty different. All of ya." Wakka said. Yuna just giggled. Zell shrugged with a smile. "Things do change, you know, Wakka. People do too." Wakka nodded. Rikku elbowed Wakka in the gut softly. "You haven't changed a bit, tubby!" Everyone laughed. Wakka held up his hands and backed away from Rikku. "Whoa! Cut it out, ya! I'm going to be a father soon. Got to have a little more presence, you know." He said.

Yuna looked excited. "How much longer?" She asked. Wakka shrugged. "Any day now." He said. Zell folded his arms. "That's cool. I would have never thought." He said. Rikku just looked dreamy. "Wakka, a daddy!" She said excitedly. Zell grinned then went dramatic. "Yeah! Where's the world coming to?" He said. Everyone laughed. "Hey! Come on, Zell! Cut me some slack!" Wakka said putting him in another headlock. He held Zell fast as he looked at the girls. "To tell you the truth, I sure don't feel like one. I mean, how do I know a father's supposed to act in front of his kid?" He asked. Zell pulled his head out of Wakka's strong grip and fell to the ground.

Squall just looked at him then back at Wakka. "Why not just do what your parents did?" He asked. Wakka shook his head. "Hm, don't remember 'em. Sin saw to that when I was still little." He said. Squall started to feel a little guilty. "Sorry." He said. Wakka shook his head. "Nah, don't worry about it."

Yuna tilted her head. "You don't have any spheres of them?" She asked. Wakka shook his head. "Nope, not a single…." He cut off with a surprised look on his face. Everyone stared at him. "What's wrong?" Rikku asked. Zell stood. "Wakka?" He asked. Wakka shook his head. "Oh, uh…nothing, nothing." Zell and Squall shared a look. Both could tell what each other was thinking. Something was wrong. "Anyway, do me a favor and go say hi to Lu. She's been worried about you." He said. Yuna nodded. "Okay." Wakka looked at Zell. "You too, Zell. Ever since you've left, she's been worried. She changed a little since you did. She kept saying what if you fell into a different portal and all. She started to doubt that you would ever return. And take your friends with you. She would want to meet them." He said. Zell nodded. "Alright." He looked at Squall and Irvine and nodded for them to follow. Yuna led them all into a tent close by.

Inside, they found the dark mage sitting on the bed looking off in thoughts. She hadn't changed one bit since Zell last seen her. She was still wearing her original black dress with the fur collar. Her black hair still in braids, falling all the way down her back like rope. The only different thing about her was her stomach was larger. Zell smiled though. He had missed Lulu. He wondered if she would recognize him. His answer soon came when she looked up at them as they entered and she smiled. She gave them a nod of greeting. "Welcome back." She looked straight at Zell. "You too, Zell. I'm glad you have returned like you promised." Zell just smiled.

"Hi, Lulu." Yuna said. Lulu glanced at Squall, Irvine and Paine but didn't say anything. "So tell us about the baby! It's gonna be born soon, right?" Rikku asked excitedly. Lulu smiled and shook her head. "Hm. Not yet. Wakka's getting a little ahead of himself." She said. Rikku whimpered. "Aw, bummer." Everyone smiled. Lulu looked back at Zell. "So, you have finally came back. I was starting to wonder differently." She told him. Zell nodded as he flipped his bangs out of his eyes. "Wakka said so." Lulu shook her head. "Wakka sure likes to talk a lot." Zell shrugged. "Yeah, so do I. You know that." He said. Lulu nodded.

"So care to go for a little walk?" She asked. Yuna looked concerned. "Can you?" She asked. Lulu nodded as she tried to stand only have a little difficulty. Zell and Irvine both looked at each other then stepped forward offering their hands. Lulu smiled as she took them and stood. "I could use the exercise. Come on." They all walked out and towards the summit of the small mountain. "So, what's so important that you'd run off without telling us?" Lulu asked as she looked down towards the village. Yuna reached into her bag and pulled out a golden colored sphere. "This." She said holding it out. Lulu looked at it. "The sphere. Wakka told me about it." She said. Yuna nodded and activated it. Everyone watched it. It was the same sphere that Yuna had Shinra show Zell and the other SeeDs. Lulu watched it carefully, her eyes narrowing every second.

"Kimahri said he found it on Mt. Gagazet." Rikku announced. "It does look like him. Though something seems a little off." Lulu said. Irvine tilted his hat back again. "That's that Tidus, kid right? The one Zell told us about, right?" He asked. Everyone looked at him and shrugged. "Well, it definitely looks like him, Irv. But I'm not sure. Lulu's right. Something seems a little weird about that guy. I think it's the cloths he's wearing. I don't remember seeing Tidus wear cloths like that." Zell said rubbing his head. Lulu looked them all over. "Have you found anything?" Yuna sighed and shook her head. "Nothing. But there's still a lot of places we haven't looked yet." She told her.

Lulu reached up and softly brushed a strand of hair out of her amber colored eyes. "Must be fun, being free to go where you please." She said. Yuna shrugged. "It is fun. I never expected a journey quite like this." She said. Zell looked at her. "It's going to be even more fun now that I'm here." He said grinning. Irvine winked. "Now who's got his mind in the gutter."

**Bam!**

Zell decked Irvine again in the arm making him yelp again and start rubbing his arm fiercely. "I didn't mean it like that you perverted cowboy! When we get back to Gaia, I'm SO having Selphie kick your butt for thinking like that!" Zell exclaimed. Rikku and Yuna was giggling like crazy while Lulu shook her head. "I suppose this is the womanizer you told us about." She said. Squall nodded. "That would be Irvine." He said folding his arms. Lulu shook her head looking at Yuna. "Still, I'm not there, so you can spread your wings." She said. Yuna smiled innocently and folded her arms behind her back. "Maybe." Lulu blinked a few times. "You have spread your wings. Well, good luck. But, Yuna, never forget who you are." She said. Everyone looked at her with surprise and confusion. "You're the high summoner that defeated Sin. There are those who would use that, Yuna." Lulu told her.

Zell shook his head as he folded his arms. He knew where she was going. "Seymore's not around anymore, Lulu. Plus, there are three SeeD here now to help protect Yuna. We won't let anyone try and hurt her again." He said. Lulu nodded. "I thank you, Zell. You are still the devoted Guardian I once knew." Yuna nodded. "I'll be all right. I won't let myself be used anymore. Not by anyone." She said. Lulu nodded looking proud. She then looked surprised and placed her hand on her stomach. "Hm?" Yuna asked looking at her with concern. "It kicked." Lulu said. Both Yuna and Rikku looked excited. "Really?" The High summoner asked. Rikku skipped over. "I wanna feel!" She said. Lulu took Rikku's hand and placed it on her stomach. Yuna got a turn next. Lulu looked at the others who all shook their heads.

They walked back to the village together smiling together. Zell told her about the troubles they had been having. She just told him to hang on. "I know that you will come out all right, Zell. You and your friends. You came out just fine two years ago with us." Zell nodded. They paused outside Wakka and Lulu's tent. "Since you've come all this way, why not stay the night?" She asked. Yuna nodded. "Yes, we'd love to." Everyone nodded with smiles.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8 or 10-2**

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**Chapter 3.  
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They stayed the night in Besaid Village. Zell got a huge surprised as Yuna showed him and the others around the village. As she told Squall and Irvine about the Besaid Temple, someone crashed right into Zell knocking him down and he ended up nearly getting crushed by several arms. Everyone jumped and turned around to see him in the middle of several tall men hugging him tightly. "Zell!" Several of them yelled and patted his back. Yuna and Rikku laughed and shook their heads. Zell struggled to get out their grips. "Guys! A little air please!" He gasped. The Aurochs finally let Zell go and coughed a few times trying to put the air back into his lungs.

"Hey, guys. I missed you too, but did you have to deflat my lungs?" He asked. Datto shrugged. "Sorry, Zell. It's just we've missed you so much, ya!" He said happily. Zell nodded grinning at them. He introduced his friends to the Aurochs and visa versa. The Aurochs gave Squall and Irvine the prayer gesture.

The next morning, the six walked out of the tent they were staying in and found Lulu waiting for them. Lulu gave them a nod of greeting. "Good morning." She told them. They all murmured their good mornings. Zell looked around. "Hey, where's Wakka? I wanted to ask him if he wanted to play Blitz before we had to leave." He said. Lulu shook her head. "He left at daybreak. He said something about a cave." She told them. Rikku looked thoughtful. "A cave? I wonder what's he's up to." She said. Yuna looked at Lulu. "Want us to go find out?" She asked. Rikku nodded bouncing on her heels. "Yeah, there might be fiends!" She said. Zell shook his head. "Wakka can take care of himself when it comes to fiends. He's not some push over." He told her.

Lulu nodded. "Thanks. Though, Zell's right. I doubt he'd have trouble handling a few fiends." She sighed looking off. "Still, I'm a little worried. It's not like Wakka to hide things." Squall flipped his long bangs out of his eyes. "Maybe he has his reasons." He suggested. Lulu shrugged. "Maybe. But still." Yuna looked confused. "That's funny. I don't remember there being any cave." Lulu shook her head. "I don't know much about it either. Would you mind asking around?" She asked. Irvine tilted his hat. "We have time, don't we?" He asked. Yuna nodded. "We're on the case."

They split up into teams to look around and ask the people of the town. The girls were together while the three SeeDs stuck together. Zell, Squall and Irvine found out something about deciphers and numbers. So they told the girls and they began searching for anything that had to deal with numbers. The girls were down by the beach while the boys were checking the path.

Just then there was the static noises as if Brother was trying to contact them. _"Any trouble?" _Brother asked. Zell listened carefully when he heard Yuna speak. **_"We're fine. How about you guys?" _**She had asked. Squall tapped his comlink. "We're good." He told them. _"My heart….is aching…." _Brother moaned. Zell blinked then crinkled his nose. So did Irvine. "Man, this guy has got it bad." He said shaking his head. **"Huh?"** Yuna asked over the transmission. _"Ahh! Nothing!"_

Zell shook his head. "Brother is so desperate. He better grow up or else." He grumbled. Squall shook his head. He was already a little annoyed with the guy, Brother. He was annoyed with him the very moment he demanded that the three SeeDs were thrown of the airship. He just flipped his bangs out of his face and continued to walk down the path. Zell and Irvine followed. "So, Zell. Tell me again. That Seymour guy you mentioned. Was he really that bad?" The cowboy asked. Zell's eyes darkened at the sound of Seymour's name. A hateful look on his face. He reached up and touched the scar on his face. "Trust me, Irv. Your better off not ever knowing about that jerk." He said. Both Squall and Irvine looked at each other knowing that the Seymour subject was something Zell didn't want to get into.

They walked on, meeting the girls on the beach. And another transmission came in. But no one spoke. **"Yuna here."** Yuna called. Still nothing. Zell was grumbling. He knew exactly who it was. "Huh. That was weird." Yuna said.

_"It's nothing." _Buddy announced.

Everyone was highly annoyed by the time they found all the numbers. "So what now?" Irvine asked. Squall looked at him. A curious glint in his eyes. "Maybe we find this cave." He suggested. Paine nodded. "Agreed." She said. Yuna nodded. "Okay, let's find it." She said. So all six began looking. After an hour, Zell was so irratated. He was getting tired of walking everyone. He began to hit everything he passed. Trees, boulders, a fiend that popped up at the wrong time while he was trying to hit another tree, the cliff side they were passing by.

**Clang!**

Everyone stopped in their tracks. Their eyes on the rocky wall Zell had punched. "What was that?" Yuna asked. Zell pulled his fist away and stared. Squall glanced at him. "Zell, do that again." He told him. Zell nodded and punched the wall again. Another loud clang echoed from inside and out. "Hmm? That's weird. It's like it's hollow." Irvine said rubbing his head. Rikku walked up and knocked on the wall with her ear pressed against it. "Yeah. It sounds hollow. I wonder what it is." She said. Squall stepped up and began rubbing at the rock covered wall, brushing dust away. He found a panel and that surprised everyone. "Machina!" Yuna gasped. Irvine looked at her. "Machi-what?" He asked. Zell stepped forward examining the panel. "Machina, Irv. It's what they call machines. I told you that and everyone else." He turned to give him a look. "Of course, you weren't listening. You were too busy checking out girls to listen." He said then began pressing buttons. Irvine blushed.

Finally after playing with the panel, the wall slid away surprising everyone. "Whoa!" Irvine exclaimed backing away. Yuna tilted her head. "A cave?" SHe asked. Rikku bounced on her heels. "Looks like it." She said. Squall shook his head. "I don't think it's a cave. I think it's just an old facility." He said stepping inside. The others followed looking around. "A what?" Paine asked. Squall was still looking around but Irvine explaiined. "It's a facility. It's a building where people either worked or lived in. It can be anything. And by the looks of it, something big destroyed it." He said. Zell nodded looking around. "This is pure steele. Looks like it's been worn down." Everyone shrugged and walked on into the 'cave'.

It was only a matter of time when they found Wakk sitting on the ground, deep in thought. He glanced over his shoulder at the six when they entered the clearing. He turned slightly to look at them better. "Hm? Something wrong?" He asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Nah, nothings wrong, bro." Zell said folding his arms. Yuna nodded. "We just came to check on you." She said. Rikku looked around with interest. "Is there something in this cave?" She asked. Wakka just shrugged. "Yeah. Something like that." He paused looking at everyone. "Who knows, maybe it's here, ya? But I thought, 'What if...Maybe it's for real. Then again maybe it never was. Been so long, I'm not sure anymore." He said lowering his head. Everyone looked confused. Irvine rubbed his head. "Uh, partner, we're not mind readers. We have no clue what your talking about." He said. Zell jabbed Irvine in the side. "Knock it off, Irv." He said sharply. Irvine gave him a look. "What? I'm only saying..." He stopped seeing the look on Squall's face. Paine stepped forward. "So your saying there's something that might be here and you want to know for sure. Right?" She asked. Wakka nodded. "Right. But you see..." He paused shifting around. He looked at the young adults. "I wanna know and then I sorta don't wanna know." He said. He caught sight of Squall. Squall was in his deep thought mode, again.

"Aw man. Make up your mind! What is this thing anyway?" Rikku complained. Wakka gave a small sigh. "Well, uh..." He rubbed his head. "See, I heard there was this old sphere." Everyone looked interested. "A sphere? Of what?" Rikku asked. Wakka looked uneasy. "A sphere of you know. What does it matter?" He asked wearily. "Hey, bud. Anything matters." Zell said. Everyone nodded with smiles.

Paine had turned and began walking deeper into the cave. "Hey! Whoa!" Wakka said with surprise. The pepper haired girl looked over her shoulder. "We're sphere hunters, remember?" She asked. Everyone looked at each other and smiled. Rikku jumped up and down, cheerfully. "It's as good as ours!" She said. Yuna nodded looking at Zell and his friends. "All right, Gullwings!" She said. Zell grinned nodding with his two childhood friends. "Time for business!" Rikku said. The three girls hurried away. Wakka looked up at the three guys, looking puzzled. "The Gullwings, huh?" He asked. Zell shrugged. "I was a Guardian before, so why not?" He asked. Wakka shrugged. "Just make sure Yuna's okay." He said. Zell nodded as he hurried off with Squall and Irvine.

The six hurried through the cavern searching for the sphere. As they went on, there was a few fiends. The three girls battled with them first. And the three SeeDs were very impressed. A few times the girls would stand back and let the guys take over. The three SeeDs were holding back though. They didn't want to show their true power just yet unless they really had to. As they went, they recieved another transmission from Brother.

_"This is Brother. You all right, Yuna?" _

Everyone but Yuna rolled their eyes. Yuna seemed clueles about Brother's crush on her. "Yessir!" She said cheerfully. Rikku touched her cousin's shoulder. "Just ignore him." She said. They walked on. Finally they came to the end of the line. They found the sphere. "There it is!" Rikku said cheerfully, running up to it. Yuna and Paine followed. The boys slowly made their way over.

Suddenly a tail slammed down in front of them making the SeeD jump back. The girls quickly spun around looking shocked. "Find a sphere and the fiends appear." Paine said shaking her head. They were looking at a large flame dragon. "It's hurt time!" Paine said as she pulled her long sword. Rikku pulled out her two hand blades while Yuna pulled her guns. "All right! Time to kick you in the spleen!" The cheerful Al Bhed cried out. Paine gave her a look. "Spleen?" She asked. Zell just grinned as he jumped into his defensive stance. "We'll be your back up, girls!" He called to them. The three girls just nodded and rushed right into battle.

The Flame dragon snarled as it swung its tail at them, hitting Yuna and Paine. Rikku had managed to jump over. "All right there, buster! Your ticking me off!" She yelled as she ran forward. She quickly slashed the giant lizard with both of her hand blades. Then she leaped back to let Yuna fire several shots off at the monster. Then Paine rushed forward slashing at it's throat knowing that was their best bet of defeating it.

The battle was long and hard for the girls. But still they weren't able to defeat it. The flame dragon kept swinging it's giant tail and hitting the girls back. The three flew back, Yuna and Paine managing to catch theirselves. But Rikku landed in Zell's arms. "It's too strong." Paine said breathlessly as she knelt down on one knee. Squall pulled his Lionheart out and slashed the air to his side. "Not for us." He muttered and walked forward. Irvine quickly followed. Zell made Rikku sit down before joining them. "All right, partner! Never hurt a pretty lady on my watch!" Irvine said spinning his shotgun. Zell punched the air. "Time for the Gardeners to spray the pest!" Squall just sliced the air with his gunblade. He gave both Irvine and Zell weird looks before glaring at the dragon. "Whatever." Was all he said before rushing forward to slash it. And the SeeDs really got to show the girls what they could do.

The dragon roared at them as they faced it but they never flinched once. All three just faced the beast without fear. The dragon swung it's tail at them and Zell reacted first. He jumped forward and caught the tail. "Naughty boy!" He yelled before he swung the entire fiend with all his strength, everyone ducking, and the beast hit the wall with a loud thud. The girls were stunned at Zell's strength. Yuna had seen Zell do that before but never expected he could do it with a bigger creature.

Irvine stepped forward as he aimed his shotgun. He smirked at the beast as it slowly got to its feet. It was completely dazed from hitting the wall so hard. "Bang!" Irvine yelled as he blasted the creature with his shotgun. As for Squall, he began glowing. Zell and Irvine quickly stepped back to give him enough room. They knew exactly what he was going to do. "Renozuken!" The Gunblader ylled and rushed forward. He began slicing the Flame dragon up. After that he jumped back still glowing. It was time to do the finishing touch. Zell nodded, knowing what he was going to do. "Hit him hard, Squall!" He called. Squall nodded and jumped high into the air. "Fated Circle!" He yelled and spun in the air. His attack hit the Flame dragon hard. It let out a loud painful roar before falling to it's side and bursting into pyreflies. Everyone but Paine cheered. She just frowned and folded her arms with a moody look on her face. Yuna grabbed the sphere and jumped high into the air. "One more for the Gullwings!" She said happily. Everyone nodded and they began hurrying back to the front of the cave.

"Anyway, that was amazing fighting, guys! And here I thought Zell could only amaze me." Rikku said linking her arm with Zell's. Irvine grinned. "Well, lil' lady. I'd do anything to impress a pretty lil' lady like you." He said giving her a wink. Rikku's face went bright red while Yuna giggled. Zell just growled angrily. "Irvine! I'm going to beat you black and blue!" He yelled and chased the cowboy. Yuna, Rikku and Paine all laughed while Squall rolled his eyes and face-palmed.

They reached Wakk who was still sitting down. He gave them a smile and a wave as they approached him. "Find anything?" He asked looking a little nervous and anxious. They all nodded. "We sure did!" Rikku said cheerfully. Yuna pulled it out. "Let's all take a look." She said. Everyone nodded and gathered around Yuna to see it. The sphere was showing the entire island of Besaid. They couldn't really see any people. Only the path through Besaid down to the beach. Zell could see the disappointed look on Wakka's face. He knew that this sphere wasn't the one his friend was looking for. And he felt sorry for him. No one besides Zell and Squall noticed the look on Wakka's face. "This it?" Rikku asked when the sphere ended. Wakka sighed and shook his head. "Nah. 'fraid not." The others had finally noticed the sad look. Zell and Rikku looked at each other.

They all walked outside together. No one had spoke for a while. They were heading back to the village together. "So what sphere were you looking for?" Rikku asked. Zell placed his arm around his Al Bhed's shoulders and looked at his friend. Wakka shrugged. "Well...It's a sphere of our parents. Chappu said he found it." He told them. Zell's eyes lit up and he immediately remembered seeing Chappu in the Farplane. He knew who Chappu was. Apparently Rikku didn't remember. She just looked confused. "Chappu?" She asked. Zell tilted his head towards her's. "Wakka's brother." He whispered for only her to hear. Her eyes lit up. "Oh! Your brother!" She said. Wakka nodded stopping. Squall folded his arms. He had remembered Zell say something about that name but didn't remember what happened. "Where is he?" He asked. He saw Zell wince and knew that was probably not a good thing to ask. Wakka just looked at him. "He was a Crusader. Now he's gone to the Farplane." He told him. Squall, again, regretted for asking and Wakka seemed to figure out that much. He shook his head. "Don't feel bad, ya? He's happier in the Farplane. Sin got our parents not long after Chappu was born. We were too young to remember their faces, you know. When we were kids, we got into a fight one time and Chappu said, 'I found a sphere with mom and dad in it. But I'm not tell you where it is." 

Yuna tilted her head. "And you never asked him?" She asked. Wakka shook his head. "I was too boneheaded to let my little brother win. So I went on without asking until I just forgot about it. Then yesterday, talking with you made me think about it again. Chappu used to play in this cave, so I thought maybe he found the sphere here, ya? But when I came to look...I got thinking." He said. Everyone stared at him. "About what?" Irvine asked tilting his hat back.

Wakka had a thoughtful look on his face. He smiled. "See, I got this picture of my parents in my head, ya? Strong and kind...whenever things got tough, those are my parents I imagined. But their faces might be totally different, ya? I think about that and I'm not so sure I really wanna know." He shrugged. "I was sitting there trying to figure out what to do. And then you guys showed up." Everyone but Squall and Paine smiled. "That's our Wakka." Rikku said. Wakka blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "The sphere might still be somewhere on the island. Should we look for it?" Yuna asked. Zell nodded. "Yeah. We'd help." He told his friend. Wakka shook his head.

"Nah. That's all right. I'm through worrying about that stuff. What's past is past, ya? Can't let it get to me. I'm going to be a father soon. Gotta pull it together." He said. Rikku nodded jumping up and down. "That's right, Dad!" She said. Everyone laughed. Wakka raised his right arm before pausing. He dropped it again. "But, uh...just how am I suppose to pull it together? Sure wish I had something to go by, you know?" He said. Zell smiled and shook his head. It was typical Wakka. "Hey, Wakka. Just go with the flow. It'll work out." He said. Wakka smiled at him and clapped his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Yeah."

_'You read me? You guys about finished down there? Brother's starting to get on my nerves.'_ Buddy sent a transmission.

Yuna looked up at the sky and nodded. "Yeah. We'll be back soon." She said. 'Yah!' They heard Brother cheer. Everyone rolled their eyes, hearing the annoying Brother.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**.

They were all walking around on the ship, wondering and planning on the next move. They were wondering if they should just go to Zanarkand to get the new sphere but Buddy made them change their minds. "There's a lot of people down there. They might swarm you." He told them. Yuna sighed folding her arms. She shook her head as did Rikku. Irvine was a little confused. He tilted his head staring at the girls.

"Why would they swarm us?" he asked. Everyone looked at him. Zell leaned against the wall. "Well, since we defeated Sin, it's obvious that we're still popular." He shrugged. "Not to mention, Yuna's High Summoner. I was a Guardian. So was Rikku. Just like other High Summoners and their Guardians, we'd be famous still." he told his cowboy friend who nodded.

Yuna and Rikku also nodded. "Yeah. A few times, we've had mobs and mobs of fans. Yuna's hand a marriage proposal one time." The Al Bhed said. Yuna went bright red from the memory. Everyone but Squall, Paine and Brother laughed. Infact Brother looked mad. Then Zell's eyes lit up.

"Hey, if we can't go to Zanarkand right this second then let's travel around Spira." He looked thoughtfully at Yuna. "For remembering things." he said. Yuna smiled with Rikku. "To remember and show your friends where've we been together?" The High Summoner asked. Zell nodded with a peaceful look on his face. Irvine grinned. "Yeah. I would love to see the old places Zell keeps blabbering about." He earned a nudge from Squall. The silent Commander stepped forward. "We have time to see those places anytime. All three of us are on leave for two months. So take as long as you want to decide our destination."

Zell could tell Squall's strange calmness unhinged Yuna a little. She seemed to be puzzled by his seriousness. But he also could see her eyes glazing over as if she was remembering something or someone. And Zell remembered Auron. The serious by kind swordsman who Zell had deeply admired. He remembered something Auron had once told him but shook it from his mind.

"Let's go to the Mushroom Rock Road."

Everyone looked at Zell with surprise. "Huh? Mushroom Rock Road? Why go there when we can go catch the sunset at the Moonflow?" Rikku asked. Zell looked down at the ground. "I just want to go there once and get it over with." He sighed. "To remember the Crusaders." He said. Yuna smiled faintly. "For Luzzu, right?" She asked softly. Zell looked at her and nodded. "Yeah. I was always fond of Luzzu. He had a father figure about him. Especially to Gatta." He said. Yuna nodded before looking at Buddy. "Let's go to Mushroom Rock Road." She said. Buddy gave her a salute. "Yes, ma-am." He said and he jumped into his seat while Brother jumped into his.

Zell went over to the side and looked out the window just watching the clouds fly by. He was remembering several things, several faces he missed so much. He gave a sigh and pulled out Tidus' necklace, he had recieved at the end of the journey. He looked at it with longing. He missed his friend so much that it hurt. They had been close ever since they first met each other and now Tidus was gone. He wondered if that one man from the sphere had been his friend. Zell was feeling frustrated. He had to know the truth. Who was that man and if he was Tidus, what was he doing in a cage?

He felt two arms wrap around his middle bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked down at who it was and saw Rikku. She gave him a warm smile. "You miss him, don't you?" She asked nodding to Tidus' necklace. Zell smiled and looked back at the object in his hand. "Course I do. He was like my brother. We got along, even better than Squall and me. And that's saying something. Squall's my best friend and had always been since our SeeD exam. He won't admit it but I think he considers me as his best friend too." He said. Rikku just smiled. "You guys seem close friends. I noticed how was looking out for you during some of the battles with fiends." She said. Zell smiled as he pocketed Tidus' necklace. "Yeah. He's always looking out for me. Always making sure I'm okay. He doesn't usually do that with anyone but Rinoa." He said. Rikku smiled up at him as she rested her head against his hard chest.

"Hey, Gullwings! We've reached the road. Prepare for departure." Buddy announced. Zell and Rikku turned around to look at the others. Yuna hurried into the room while the others walked away from their seats. "Gullwings, try and bring back a sphere!" Brother ordered. Irvine just looked at him with a raised eyebrow while Squall gave Brother his best glare making the Al Bhed back down, looking extremely nervous. Everyone snickered as they watched Brother cringe.

They walked along the Mushroom Rock Road while listening to Yuna explain to Squall and Irvine about what had happened there two years ago. The two SeeDs took in the information with care. And then the whole group froze in their tracks when they noticed the two crooks from before. The ones who travelled with the blonde woman, Leblanc. "Hey! It's those creeps again!" Rikku said pointing. Paine looked around then at Yuna with a shrug. "Maybe there's a sphere here." She suggested. Zell shrugged. "If there is, why don't we grab it." He said. Yuna nodded. "It's our turn to do the following." She said. Everyone nodded and began walking after Ormi and Logos. They were heading into the canyon when someone hurried forward.

"Good to see you again, Lady Yuna! You have forgotten me, have you?" The young man asked. Zell eyed the man with confusion. He remembered this guy from somewhere but he couldn't put his finger on it. Yuna seemed to remember him very well. She didn't look very comfortable but she was smiling. "Yaibal, isn't it?" Your with the Youth League." She said. The guy looked happy. "You really do remember me! I'm truly honored, Lady Yuna." He said happily. Zell and Irvine looked at each other dully. They were thinking the very same thing. This guy was an idiot.

"Since the day we spoke, the Youth League has been conducting a sphere hunt of our own. We, the Youth League..." A confused look appeared on Yaibal's face. As if he didn't remember what to say. "Hmmm." He glanced around for the closest person.

It was Clasko! The Chocobo expert! Zell was surprised to see him, and happy. He had liked Clasko. He always believed the guy had a big future lying ahead of him. "Clasko, take it from here!" Yaibal ordered the poor guy. Zell shot him a dirty look and clenched his fists, making his knuckles crack. He didn't like the way this Yaibal was ordering Clasko around. He knew that Clasko wasn't very independent about himself; and hardly stood up for himself. The martial artist was going to step in to intervene but he felt Squall's hand on his shoulder. "Don't even think about it, Zell." He heard him whispered. They watched Clasko sigh, looking very unhappy. He walked up to them and gave them a salute.

"We, the Youth League, to better our understanding of Spira's past, vow to remain viligant in our search...sigh for ruins and spheres." He said dully. Zell again looked at Irvine who looked back. Both of them looked worried. "Kind of unhappy fella, don't ya think?" The cowboy asked. Zell shrugged.

Rikku, however, began jumping up and down."Ohh! That's enough! Those two guys are getting away!" She said impatiently. Zell smiling seeing her so impatient. She hadn't changed that much. Paine nodded. "Did Leblanc's men pass through here?" She asked. Yaibal nodded. "Yes. They said they're here to take care of our friend problem. You see, the Youth League is in preparation for an important operation, leaving our patrols short handed. As a result the road the headquarters has been over run with fiends. Be warned. Unless you can defeat the fiends on the road you will not be able to pass. So are you ready to run the guantlet?" He asked. The group looked at each other then nodded. "Sure. Why not?" Zell said. Yuna nodded. "Sure, we're game." She told Yaibal. The young man nodded. "Understood! Expect to encounter fiends until you reach the vicinity of the lift. Fight your way through them and proceed to Headquarters. That's it. Good luck! Clasko?" He said looking around. "Clasko! Show them the way!" He ordered and walked away. Clasko nodded. "Of-of course. This way please." He said starting into the canyon. "Yeah! Let's hunt some fiends!" Rikku cheered, hurrying forward. Everyone walked forward. "Hey, Clasko. It's nice to see you again." Zell said stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Clasko glanced over his shoulder and then smiled when he saw Zell. "Sir Zell! My, I almost didn't recognize you. It's been so long." He said. Zell nodded. "Yeah it has. How you've been? You seem kind of down." Everyone nodded in agreement. Clasko sighed. "Well, a lot has happened since you brought us the Calm. I ended up following Captain Lucil when she joined the Youth League, so did I. But I'm still playing tour guide." He sighed again. "You know, all I want to do is ride on a Chocobo faster than the wind." He said. Irvine's eyes lit up. "Ah, so this is that fella you told me about." He said looking at Zell, who nodded. Clasko just shrugged and walked away.

The group of six walked through the guantlet, looking around. They tackled a few fiends as they went. The SeeDs got to see the girls change with their dresspheres during the battles and Zell just thought Rikku looked so hot in each of her outfits. He overheard Irvine muttering and checking them out. The blonde was on the verge of killing his friend for even laying his eyes on Rikku and Yuna in his way but Paine had did something about it. She must have caught him looking at her ass while she was in her Thief outfit. What she had done was knock the cowboy against the cliff wall and hold her blade close to his neck. "Keep your eyes to yourself or I'll have them removed!" She threatened. Irvine went pale and his eyes widen. Zell and Squall just smirked and shook their heads. The group kept walking until they came to a point where they had to climb down. The guys helped the girls down when they needed it. Though Paine wouldn't let any of them touch her. Then they walked through the small canyon, being very careful where they were going.

Finally they came to a dead end, yet they had found what they were looking for. The two men were standing in front of a large bronz door. It was the strangest thing the SeeDs had ever seen. The two men were holding several spheres and trying to push them into small slots in the door. The SeeDs and the Gullwings looked at one another as they all filed into the clearing. "This one ain't no good." The fat one, Ormi said. Logos shook his head. "Nor this one." He grumbled. Zell and Rikku looked at each other again before shrugging.

"What're you doing?" Yuna asked finally breaking the silence.

The two jumped and spun around, dropping a few spheres. "The Gullwings!" Both exclaimed, going for their weapons. The three SeeDs acted quickly, grabbing their weapons. And just seeing the deadly looking Gunblade, the two backed up. "Let's get outta here!" Ormi exclaimed recollecting the spheres. Logos eyed the three SeeDs with interest. "We must inform the boss!" He said. He fired his gun at the ground and smoke exploded around them. When the smoke disappeared, the two men were gone.

"Hey! They dropped something!" Rikku said rushing forward. She picked up a golden sphere off the ground. They all smiled, except Squall. He just slid his Gunblade away. "Finders keepers." He said smirking. They turned to leave but stopped. There was someone standing in the entrance way. They all tensed and waied to see if it was an enemy. But the intruder walked forward smiling. Zell's eyes lit up and he smiled right back. He knew this man. He had found him very friendly and quite a good guy. "Hey! Remember me?" The man asked grinning. Yuna nodded smiling. "Of course I do!" She said happily. Zell grinned back and nodded. "Yeah! Your Maroda!" He said. Maroda looked thrilled. "Glad to hear it." He said putting hsi fists on his waist. "It's good to see you too, Zell. Although, I must say. You look very different. If it wasn't for that marking on your face, I would haven't known it was you." He said. Zell just shrugged.

Yuna stepped forward. "How've you been?" She asked. Maroda shrugged. "I joined up with the Youth League and that's been keeping me pretty busy." He said. They all nodded. "Oh. I'm a sphere hunter now." Yuna told him. Maroda grinned.

"Ah, that's sounds great, trying out a new way of life." He walked forward looking at Zell. He knew how much the Ex-Guardian liked his little brother. "Actually Pacce's a sphere hunter now, too. He's the leader of the Kinderguardians. Be nice to him if you see him." He said with a mock of seriousness. They all laughed or smirked. "Don't worry, pal. We will. I like that kid." Zell said. Maroda nodded. "How's Issaru?" Yuna asked. A cross look appeared on Maroda's face. He looked away with a dark look. And Zell could tell that he didn't want to talk about it. Instead he looked around the dead end. "The Youth League discovered this place, you know. It's called the Den of Woe. It was sealed aroudn the time of Operation Mi'ihen." He told them as he walked past them, looking around the area. Yuna was now looking uneasy. "And Issaru?" She asked. Maroda went quiet again. He walked up to the door with his head slightly lowered. "But, uh, the seal can supposingly be broken with the right combination of spheres." He said Everyone was uneasy now. Zell and Irvine looked at each other, questioningly. "Um..."Yuna paused. Zell shifted his weight. "Maroda, what about Iss..." He saying.

Maroda turned around. "I'm afraid this place is off limits until we can conduct a more thorough investigation. So, I'll, um...have to ask you to leave." He winced. "I'm sorry." They could tell he was trying to be polite. Zell, however, was going to proceed in asking. He was starting to get irratated with Maroda avoiding the question. But then he felt a Silence spell fall over him and he glanced over his shoulder at Squall. The taller SeeD shook his head as if saying, Drop it. So they did.

As they walked out of the small canyon, Squall cast a Esuna on Zell to release him from his spell. "Why'd you do that?" The annoyed martial artist asked. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Squall just shook his head. "Maroda didn't want to talk about the guy, Issaru. Knowing you, Zell, you would have lost your temper on him and did something stupid." He said. Everyone remained quiet except Zell, who was just grumbling.

They went on through the Guantlet, getting rid of fiends until they came to a large elevator where there were three people standing guard. And Zell recognized one of them. He remembered seeing her a few times. And she appeared to be thrilled to see Yuna when she spotted her. "Oh, wow! Lady Yuna!" She said hurrying forward. "It's me, Elma! It's been so long! Wow, you've really changed!" She said happily. Zell rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "How are you?" Yuna asked kindly. Elma looked excited. "Never better! Now that I'm in the Youth League. I've always got something to do. Hey, you made it past the fiends! Nice work!" She turned from Yuna to the other League members. "Go on, step aside!" She ordered. The two nodded and moved aside. "Right away, Captain!" They said together. Yuna was impressed, the others weren't. "Wow, look at you." She said. Elma smiled. "Not bad, huh?" She asked. She motioned to the elevator and everyone climbed aboard. As soon as they were all on, they went up.

The group walked towards the Headquarters. Zell was looking around as they did. He was remembering several things that had happened there. He paused before stopping in his footsteps. Everyone stopped and looked at him. "Zell? What is it?" Rikku asked. Zell was looking towards the cliffs. "Nothing." He paused. "You guys go ahead. I'm going to stay out here for a bit." He said. The all hiesitated before nodding. "Okay." Yuna said. She took the two girls with her. Squall and Irvine stared at their friend. "Zell?" Irvine asked. Zell looked at him. "Go ahead, guys. I just need to remember a few things, that's all." He said. Squall nodded and the two left Zell to his thoughts. The martial artist walked over to the edge of the cliff and stared off. He was remembering the events of the Mi'ihen Operation. He remembered seeing all those people die. All of the Crusaders and the Al Bhed. He remembered he had started to seey Seymour's true colors. He felt his rage bottle up. His fist clenched tightly and he lowered his head, closing his eyes. He had remembered how Auron distrusted Kinoc and Seymour. He had known that they were not good. He could remember how Tidus had chased after Sin, yelling in rage. Then he remembered how Kimarhi had talked to him for the very first time. Zell smiled but felt a tear trickle down his face. So many memories were in that place. But there was more to come.

"Remembering things that hurt is a painful thing but can be a blessing. It makes you know how you survived." He heard.

He opened his eyes and turned around. There stood Paine. Her arms were folded and a serious look was on her face. Her pepper colored bangs were hanging over her cherry red eyes. She was looking slightly interest. Zell tilted his head and shrugged. "Yeah, guess so." He turned fully towards her. "What about you? Do you remember things too?" He asked. Paine turned and started to walk away. She wasn't going to answer him, but she stopped. She turned her head back around and looked into Zell's eyes. "I remember lots of things." Her voice was quiet and had a sad tone to it. "Not good things." Zell walked towards her. "You wanna talk about it?" He asked. Paine tilted her head away. "Not really. I keep to myself for a good reason." She said and walked away.

Zell watched her go before looking back at the horizen. He smiled softly before turning towards the cliff and gave a loud shrill whistle. He could almost hear people jump with surprise and knew that they were all looking at him. But it wasn't like he cared. He was enjoying himself. "Hey, Tidus. I'm home. Anytime you feel like coming from the Farplane to visit, feel free to." He said smiling.

**'Ugh, how pathedic is that?'**

Zell rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Shut up, Diablos." He grumbled.

Just then there was another loud whistle. He blinked a few times before turning around and seeing a smiling Yuna. The others were watching them. Zell grinned back at her and nodded. "Let's head now. I'm done here." He said. Yuna nodded. "Okay. Let's go." She said. They all turned and walked away from the Youth League Headquarters. They met Clasko along the way though. He looked very disturbed. He was bending over looking like someone had just slugged him in the middle. "That's it! Every time I try something new, I screw it up. I just don't know what to do with my life. I don't know where I belong. I've spent my whole life drifting one failute to the next. But, I can't keep doing this forever. I know that there's a plkace for everyone in this world, even for someone as sad and pathedic as me." He muttered sadly. The whole group of six frowned. "Hey!" Zell and Irvine exclaimed. Clasko jumped and turned around. Both SeeDs stepped forward while Clasko gave a dark, disapproving look. "Ya talk like that, partner, and you really are sad and pathedic." Irvine said folding his arms. Zell shook his head. "Clasko, you can't put yourself down like that. I know you'd make it in something. You fancy chocobos, don't you? So why don't you get into it?" He asked. Clasko sighed. "I wish I could, Zell. But I'm afraid I'd fail that too. I wouldn't want to fail those wonderful creatures." He said. Irvine nodded slowly before stepping forward. He motioned for Clask ot come forward, who obeyed.

Then Irvine reached into his pocket and pulled soemthing out making his friends smile. "Selphie'll probably kill me for giving this to ya, but I can handle her. I want you to do me a favor, all right?" He asked. Clasko nodded. His eyes went to what was in the Gaian's hand and his eyes grew wide. "I want you to take care of this for me. I'm afraid if I keep carrying it around, it'll get smashed. And that would definitely upset my girl." Irvine said. Clasko quickly backed away. "No! I can't take that! I'll break it by accident or drop it! I don't want to hurt that poor thing!" He cried out. Yuna stepped forward and looked at the white orb in Irvine's hands. "What is that?" She asked. Zell looked at her, grinning.

"That is a chicabo egg. It's our chocobo, Boko's kid. At least one of ten of them anyway." He said. Rikku's eyes widened. "T-ten eggs!" She gasped. Squall shrugged. "Boko has five mates. They each had two eggs." He said calmly.

Irvine grabbed Clasko's shirt and pulled him back towards him. "Look, Clasko. I know you can do this. All you have to do is take care of the egg and make sure it hatches. I have faith in ya." He said. Clasko looked very hiesitant. But then he gently took the egg. "Okay. If you truly believe in me then I'll do it." He said. He looked from the egg to Irvine, smiling. "Thank you." He said. Irvine nodded before going back to the group. Clasko looked at Yuna. "Lady Yuna! I want to find my place. Please allow me to ride on your airship." He said. Yuna smiled and nodded. "The more the merrier." She said. Clasko looked delighted. "Thank you so much! I'll find my true calling, you'll see!" He said. Everyone nodded. They sent Clasko to the airship while they went over to the Djose Temple. And Zell never knew that he could get so annoyed by just one person. Besides Irvine.

They were just standing there in front of the temple staring back at the people. Once they had walked up everyone there turned and stared. "Everyone's staring." Yuna said. Squall shifted his weight uneasily. He hated it when people did that to him. Zell could tell that he was getting agitated. Rikku shrugged.

"You're famous, Yunie. Better get used to it."

Zell nodded. "Yeah. We did defeat Sin, after all. And lived to tell the tale. So you better get used to parties, celebrations and such." He said. Yuna sighed. "All I want's some peace and quiet." She said weakly. Squall looked away and folded his arms. "You and me both, Yuna." He said. Rikku slowly scooted over to Paine.

"Poor things. She's led such a sheltered life." She teased. Paine smirked. "Maybe she's getting old." She said. Zell and Irvine snorted with laughter. "Maybe both of them are getting old." The cowboy muttered. Both Yuna and Squall turned glares onto the other four. "Who's getting old!" The High Summoner demanded. Squall grabbed the handle of his LionHeart. "Irvine, I swear I'm going to cut out your tongue." He growled. A small heated arguement rose up between them.

Just then, a young man passed by them, glancing at them as they argued. He was a blonde and wore odd looking clothing very much like a pirate. He was quite handsome and had a boyish face, shaped much like Zell's. He wore an eyepatch over one eye. His good eye was bright blue. He had definitely caught everyone's eye. And Zell felt an annoyed wave roll over him. He was annoyed just by looking at this guy. He heard Rikku snort.

"That's Gippal, leader of the Machine Fraction. He can be kind of annoying but he's all right." She informed them. The man, Gippal, paused outside the Temple doors, turning around. "Okay, let's do some interviews!" He clicked his fingers and waved at them forward. "Bring it!" He said then went inside. Yuna giggled. "Yeah. He's seems all right." She said. Zell huffed folding his arms. "Yeah right. He looks more like a show off to me." He grumbled. Irvine and Squall smirked at each other while Paine rolled her eyes. Rikku just giggled. "Oooh. Am I sensing jealousy over there?" She teased. Zell snorted. "No! I can take that pretty boy anytime, anywhere, any place." He said. Rikku just laughed.

They waited for a while before it was their turn to go in the tent that was set up. They learned what the interviews were for. The Al Bhed of the Machine Fraction were looking for diggers. And after that, they were directed to go to the temple to see Gippal. Zell was grumbling about how he didn't want to even talk to the pretty boy. No one was listening to him though. They found Gippal talking to an Al Bhed in their language. No one but Rikku seemed to understand a word he was saying. But he stopped talking when he saw Yuna.

"Huh!"

Yuna waved at him. "Hello." She said sweetly. Gippal turned and walked over to them. "You, uh, here for an interview?" He asked unsurly. Yuna nodded. "Uh-huh." She said. Gippal scratched the back of his head. "The great High Summoner wants an interview?" He asked again. Zell gritted his teeth with annoyance. Yuna just held up a finger and said, "Former summoner."

Gippal shrugged. "Okay. Whatever you say." He turned and walked out. The group followed him outside. He didn't say anything until they were out on the bridge. He turned around and faced them again. His good eye on Yuna and only her. He folded his arms and leaned forward. She had to bent back a little to avoid collision. She looked very uneasy and it was making Zell growl again.

"Never been this close to a celebrity before." Gippla said looked her over. Zell clenched his fist cracking his knuckles but no one seemed to hear. "That's nice." Yuna said uneasily. Gippal stepped closer to straighten himself. He smirked down at her. "I could get used to this." He glanced over at Zell when he heard the martial artist start muttering. Yuna looked worriedly over at her friend then back at Gippal. "Let's not." She said.

Again, Gippal shrugged. He looked over at Rikku and grinned. "Well, if it isn't Cid's girl!" He winked at her. "How you been?" He asked almost in a flirting way. And that seemed to piss Zell off.

"Hey, I have a name." Rikku said with a small laugh. Zell nodded, stepping forward. He put an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah. It's Rikku. And I'm Zell, her boyfriend." He said defensivly. Gippal just smiled and held up his hands in his defense. "Ooh. Touche. Luum ed, dude." He said with a laugh. Rikku scowled at Zell. "Zell." He glanced at her. "What?" He asked as if he was being accused of something. Gippal laughed at him. "Heh, Brother doin' okay?" He asked. Rikku nodded. "Same as ever. Buddy's around too." She said. Gippal gave a low chuckle. "Same as ever is right." He looked over at Squall and Irvine, a small confused look on his face then he looked at Paine.

Immediately he looked shocked. "You!" He almost gasped stepping towards her. Everyone looked at Paine who glanced back. She folded her arms and nodded. "Paine. Nice to meet you." She said in a strange way. Zell squinted his eyes. Did Paine know Gippal? Gippal seemed to know her. He stepped back looking confused.

"Uh-huh?"

Paine rose her eyebrows and dipped her head a little. "We're here for the interview." She reminded him. Gippal chewed on the inside of his mouth and swung his arms as he backed away from Paine. "Right...the interview." He shrugged and folded his arms. His attention went back to Yuna. "Well, all we want you to do is go to Bikanel Island to the homebase. They'll tell you where to dig. We're just looking for some stuff that might help us." He tilted his head.

"You sure you want to dig? 'cause we're talking about the desert, ladies and gentlemen. Not exactly a picnic." He said. Yuna nodded. "We're sure." She told him. Zell shifted his weight. "Yeah. We can handle it. We're not some weakling." He said. Gippal looked at him raising his eyebrows. He looked slightly annoyed. But the blonde martial artist was giving him a daring look. "All right. You're hired. Welcome." Gippal said. Everyone blinked. "Huh?" Yuna asked. Gippal wiggled a finger in the air. "You. Are. Hired." He said slowly and spelled the words out in the air. He then shook his head. "Don't know why a superstar like you would want to play in the sand." He shrugged. "All well, do what you gotta do. Anyways, I've done what I can. Dig to hearts content." He said digging into his pocket. Yuna nodded. "Um, thanks."

Gippal scribbled something on a paper then held it out to her. "Show this letter to a woman named Nhadala. You'll find her in the Bikanel Desert." he told her. Yuna nodded. Then Gippal waved at them as he started to walk away. "Happy digging!" He then was gone.

Irvine rubbed the back of his head as he watched the Al Bhed walk away. "Man, that was weird." He said. Yuna shrugged. "Yeah it was. He sure seems nice." She said. Zell just rolled his eyes earning a light smack from Rikku. "By the way, you embarrassed me with your stunt back there." She said. Zell shrugged. "Hey! He was flirting with you, Rik. I didn't like it." He said. Rikku rolled her eyes. "Zell, he wasn't flirting. He's an old friend of the family. He was just being friendly." She said. Zell rolled his eyes again. "He was flirting." He argued. Rikku scowled at him before stomping away. Zell sighed. "Oh great. Now Rikku's mad at me. Just my luck." He said. Yuna shook her head. "Don't worry, Zell. She won't stay mad too long." She said. Zell's shoulders fell. "I hope not." Then they walked on towards the Moonflow.

* * *

Al Bhed Translation:

Luum ed: cool it.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey, everyone! I AM SO sorry for making you wait so long. I was so busy lately that I almost could never get on the computer. Plus I almost forgot about the story until my friend emailed me about it. blushes Anyway, here's the long awaited chapter that I've made you all wait on.

* * *

****Chapter 5.**

The three Gullwings and three SeeDs finally made it to the Moonflow, looking around with impressed looks. It was just like how it used to be. Squall and Irvine were definitely impressed with the scenery. They had remembered what Zell had told them about it, and they had imagined it to be very pretty. But the word pretty seemed like an understatement right about now. The Moonflow was beautiful.

"It's just how I left it." Zell said with a smile.

Everyone nodded as they looked at pyreflies flying over the water. There was a gentle, warm breeze blowing and it was very pleasant to the entire group. "Man, Zell. Ya said it was very pretty here. But now I'm starting to think that you were lying." Everyone looked at Irvine with confused looks. The cowboy was smiling as he closed his eyes to enjoy the peace. "This place is gorgeous. I'm starting to wish Selphie was here."

Everyone smiled as they looked back at the grey, sparkling water. Yuna closed her eyes and tilted her head back. "Hey, this is nice out here."

Everyone glanced at her. "What?" Rikku asked.

Yuna looked over at her cousin. "People are enjoying nature. It's very peaceful." She said. Zell smiled as he watched his friend. "Yeah." He agreed.

Rikku went over to the edge of the water and looked down. "Sure is. A lot of people are travelling these days, trying to learn more about Spira." She said. Paine nodded as she looked out. "Thanks to you, Yuna." Yuna shook her head looking at the girl. "I had nothing to do with it." She told her.

Squall folded his arms. "Sure you did." He spoke up. Everyone looked over at him. The Gunblader shrugged. "You travelled all over Spira just to help get rid of Sin. You helped bring peace to this place and that helped pick up some peices. The people of your home world heard your story and wanted to to the same. They wanted to go to the places you went to. By doing this, they're learning much more. I wouldn't be surprised that they are amazed by what they see and learn."

Yuna smiled a little and looked back out. Rikku nodded. "Yeah! So, Yunie. Go on, give yourself a pat on the back." She told her. Yuna just giggled and shook her head.

They were just standing around when they heard a very hyper and annoying voice breaking the peace. "On this spot, I'll be sponsoring an extraordinary show!" The group turned around and spotted very small and strangely dressed man running back and forth. He was oddest man anyone has seen. And they had seen some very odd people. The man wore a red outfit and hat with a yellow bill. He almost looked like a very large bird. And he was speaking extremely fast. He had spotted the group watching him and ran right up to them looking very excited.

Zell rose an eyebrow and stepped back, a little freaked out.

"Do, do come! Oh, and I'm Tobli! Yup-yup! It will be a splendid indeed!" the short man said excitedly. "Mark my words! People here and there, and merriment everywhere!"

Zell saw Squall backing away with a strange look on his face. He remembered how extremely hyper people made the young Commander nervous. He remembered by watching Selphie getting sugar high. Irvine seemed a little disturbed, himself. And he was dating an extremely hyper person. Yuna and Rikku just looked excited. "Hey, that sounds like fun!" She said merrily. Squall grimaced. "Can we go yet?" He muttered to Zell. Yuna glanced over at him, noticing how uneasy he looked. She just nodded. Rikku waved at Tobli. "Okay, well, we'll see you then." They turned to leave.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! I have a favor to ask of you!" Tobli cried out following them.

Paine glanced over her shoulder, slightly glaring. "Let's go." She said. Yuna bit her lip looking uneasy, herself. "Um, okay? After all, we're sphere hunters."

There was a long pause. Zell noticed that Squall was getting irratated by Tobli just standing right behind him. The martial artist was going to turn around and tell him to bug off but Yuna interupted. "Oh, let's hear him out!" She said. Paine and Squall both groaned in frustration and shook their heads. Irvine just scratched the back of his neck and turned around to face Tobli. Zell and Rikku just laughed.

"Oh, here's the thing, you see. My able assistant hasn't come back. From Luca, of course. Where else? He went to fetch some supplies, which are vitally, crucially important! For the show, you see!" Tobli said bouncing as he spoke.

Squall gave the short man a disgusted glare but Tobli didn't seem to notice. Zell was starting to feel irratated himself. He didn't really like hyper people that much either. That was probably why he and Selphie always bickered over the stupidest things.

"Go check on him, right?" Rikku asked folding her arms behind her back.

Tobli nodded. "Oh, quite, quite!" He said clapping his hands. Paine folded her arms looking just like Squall. "Why ask us?" She asked annoyed. Again, Tobli didn't seem to notice that he wasn't very popular with the two young adults in black. "Because you are sphere hunters, and sphere hunters hunt spheres!" He said holding up his hand. He was holding up a brightly colored orange sphere.

Yuna and Rikku both smiled brightly. "That settles it!" The blonde Al Bhed said happily. Everyone nodded. They were going to do this just to get their hands on the sphere.

"Right, right! It's yours if you return my assistant safely back to safety! I'm thinking he must be over in general vicinity of Djose Temple. Oh, and he's a Hypello!" He said. Zell's eyes lit up. Now that he thought about it, there was a Hypello on the road while they were walking to the Moonflow.

"Hey, we passed a Hypello on our way here. You think that was him?" He asked looking at the others. Yuna shrugged. "There's only one way to find out." She said. Rikku nodded. "All right! Let's go get him." She said. Everyone nodded and started to walk back the way they had come.

They were half way there when they heard a cry for help. There was someone in trouble right up ahead. So the group quickened their pace and found a Hypello standing next to a large cart being raided by bandits. "Oh, I am in trubbable!" The Hypello cried out, going into hysterics. It hurried forward to stop a bandit. "Publease don't do dis!" He begged.

The bandit shoved the creature off him and rose his weapon. "Get off me, you worthless creature!" He yelled and was about to strike the Hypello.

"Hey! Keep your filthy hands off of him!" Zell yelled cocking back his hand and then threw a small Water spell as the bandit. The spell hit him directly in the face, knocking him right off the cart. The other bandits looked over with gasps at the angry group. "Put those things back right now!" Rikku demanded. Of course, the bandits wouldn't listen. They just bolted for the forest.

Squall looked over at Irvine. "Irvine, Cerebus."

The cowboy nodded and hurried forward. Dark globes of light surrounded him and he threw out his hand. The sky seemed to darken a little and some kind of portal opened right in front of the escaping bandits, who all halted and cried out in fear as a gate opened. A very large and metallic looking three headed dog stomped out snarling at the bandits. The center head barked angrily at them and it's hassals rose a little. Rikku and Yuna both gasped with surprise and fear. Paine just stepped back looking confused and surprised herself.

"Now, partners! Why don' ya listen to the pretty lil' lady and put those items back on the cart or I'm going to have my dogs bit ya'll!" Irvine called out to the bandits.

Zell smirked as he watched all of the bandits look at one another and then drop everything they were carrying. Every single one spun around and took off running. The three headed dog just looked over at Irvine who shook his head folding his arms. Cerebus just turned around and stomped back through the gates and everyone went back to normal.

The three Gullwings just stared with wide open mouths at where the three headed dog used to be. The three girls were astonished as was the Hypello, jaws had fallen too. The frog like eyes were wide. Yuna finally recovered and turned to look at Irvine. "What was that?!" She gasped. Irvine grinned at her. "Ah, that was just my GF, Cerebus. Don't be scared of him. I know he's big and mean lookin', but he's harmless really. To us anyway. He's more like a puppy dog, actually. He loves his belly rubbed." He laughed as he said that.

Everyone broke out into laughter. Even Paine. She was clearly amused by what she had just seen. "Amazing. I have never seen anything like it." She said. Yuna turned to the Hypello. "You're Tobli's assistant?"

The Hypello snapped back to attention when he heard the name. "Yesh. Are yoo friends of the chief?"

Rikku nodded bouncing up and down. "We sure are! You just sit back and let the Gullwings escort you back to Tobli." She said. Zell nodded as he started towards the field. "But first, let's get all of his stuff back." He said. The Hypello nodded as he followed. "Thank yoo."

Everyone nodded and went to fetch the items. Once they had everything back on the cart, they started to walk back to the Moonflow. They ran into a few more bandits on the way but the thieves didn't get very close to the cart because Irvine kept sending warning shots at them with his shotgun. One did managed to get close enough to grab something off the cart but Zell knocked him out with his fist before he could get away.

They finally returned to Tobli, who was quite relieved to see his assistant. "Oh, ho ho, you returned!" He said happily.

The Hypello jumped off the cart as they stopped it. "Thanksh to thesh ladiesh and gentlemen." he said motioning to the Gullwings and SeeDs.

Tobli smiled up at the young adults merrily. "Yup-yup! Of course, you've been most helpful! With this, the show is just a step away from a smashing success!" He held out the sphere to Yuna. "Here, as promised!"

Yuna nodded as she took it. "Thank you." She said. Tobli then hurried over to a box and pulled something out. "Oh, and take this with you, too! For everything you've done!" He said holding it out. Yuna took it. Zell was eyeing it with curiousity. It was an odd looking thing. "Hey! A Helios Guard Garment Grid! Neat!" Rikku said merrily. Tobli grinned. "It's such a good fuzzy feeling, meeting reliable people persons such as yourselves! Yessiree!" He said happily. Yuna smiled. "You're very welcome!" she told him. Rikku nodded. "Just remember, it was the Gullwings that helped you out." She said. Everyone nodded and went back to the Celsius. They decided to go onto Guadosalam, which Zell wasn't too thrilled about.

It was Seymour's home town.

* * *

The place looked just about the same, only there was a very big difference. Zell was surprised to see that there was no Guado in the entire place. He looked around for a single sight of the people. It just confused him. Where was all of the Guado? He remembered how many Guado there used to be in that place. He looked at Yuna.

"Yuna where's the Guado?"

Yuna looked at Zell with a sad look. "The Guado are gone. No one knows where they are. There's a rumor that says they have departed for the Farplane. Some people think they deserved to die. That we were all better off without them." She shook her head with a sigh. "I don't know what to think. Yes, I disliked what Seymour did but did the others have to pay?"

Zell frowned looking around. He knew the answer was no. The Guado didn't know what they're leader had planned to do. He sighed and lowered his head.

The group went on to the Thunder Plains. Zell had expected to see Rikku curl up next to him fear like she had two years ago but for some reason, she didn't do it. She just smiled as she looked around. "Wow, it looks so great here!" She said happily. Zell stared at her with surprise. "Rikku, aren't you scared?" He asked. Rikku looked at him with confusion. "Huh? No. Why would I be scared of this place?" Her eyes lit up. "Oh! That's right! You didn't know! No, I'm not scared of this place anymore. I camped out here for a week so I'm not scared of thunder and lightning." She smiled as she leaned against him. "Of course, I was at first but then I thought about you all the time. Thinking of you the whole time helped." Zell grinned and he wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her close. Yuna giggled while the others rolled their eyes.

"Ugh, get a room you two." Irvine said looking away.

They crossed the Thunder Plains, fighting a few fiends on the way. They had a lot of fun doing it. Zell found out that Rikku was still wearing the yellow ring that he had bought two years ago when he first visited the Thunder Plains. The group finally made it to the Macalania Woods. It was still very beautiful but there was something wrong with the picture. Some of the trees looked like they were dying. Zell frowned with concern. He looked around as Yuna lead the way into the forest. They all stopped when they saw a strange looking creature standing in the road.

The creature was looking around before sighing. "The woods will soon be no more." Then he vanished.

The teens all looked at each other before shrugging. They continued on their way along the path. They travelled through the forest, looking around. There was hardly any fiends there. There were only a few but not many. "Man, what happened to this place?" Irvine asked looking around.

Yuna sighed as she slowed her pace. "Two years ago when the Fayth disappeared, everything started to change. The forest is dying. The Macalania Lake is gone. I'm afraid that the forest will be the same." She said. Zell lowered his head. "I guess this is what we get for destroying Sin for good, huh?" He asked. Rikku shook her head. "As much as I hate to admit it, but yes. I bet if we would have left the Fayth the way they were, everything would still be the same." She looked at him. "But it was worth it. No one has to live in fear anymore." Zell nodded and they continued on their way.

They were almost at Macalania Lake, when Yuna paused in front of a familiar path way. She looked towards it. "Hey, this is where Auron showed me and Tidus the sphere of Jecht." She said.

Zell looked at her. "Was that what he was doing?"

The Former High Summoner looked at him and nodded. Squall stepped forward, tilting his head a little. "Hey, you hear that?" He asked. Everyone went quiet and listened for a long time. They could hear soft voices coming from within the clearing.

"Should we go see what it is?" Rikku asked.

Yuna looked at her and nodded. "I want to know who's still in the forest. I hope whoever it is, isn't hurt or anything." She lead the way down the path.

As they walked, Zell saw a few things moving in the trees. He cautiously kept looking around. And then they came to the clearing. Everyone stopped and their eyes grew wide. It was the Guado. Yuna pointed. "Look! It's Tromell." She said. Everyone looked forward and saw that she was right. The ancient looking Guado was standing at the base of a large crystal tree. "Come on. Let's go talk to him." Yuna said.

Everyone nodded and hurried over to where the old Guado was. Tromell had turned around when heard them approaching and he clearly looked suprised. "Oh, High Summoner Yuna." He sighed lowering his head. "Forgive me for the grief I have caused you."

Yuna stepped forward looking concerned. "How have you been?" She asked gently.

The Guado shook his head still keeping his gaze on the ground. "Well...With Lord Seymour gone, we Guado are hardly different from the dead." He informed.

Zell folded his arms and tilted his head. He wanted to say something smart but for something, his conscious wasn't letting him. He could see the tired and very sad look on the Guado's face. He shook his head. "No offense, Tromell, but Seymour had it coming for what he did. Especially to the Ronso." He earned a poke in the side by Rikku. "Zell, be nice." She whispered.

Tromell shook his head. "No, he is right." He lowered his gaze again. "Many Ronso lost their lives at the hands of Lord Seymour. Those who survived swore vengence for their fallen comrades. We Guado sealed ourselves away in Guadosalam and strengthened our defenses. But soon we no longer had the strength for even this. Now, we live among the shadows of these woods." He said solemly.

Yuna sighed looking saddened by this. "Tromell..." She whispered.

Tromell looked at her. "High Summoner, do not trouble yourself to show sympathy for the Guado. We once walked willingly with Lord Seymour, never questioning, even as he led all Spira into madness. Lady Yuna, I cannot ask that you forgive us..." He shook his head. "...only that you forget us." He told her.

Yuna looked even more pained. "Tromell..." She whispered again.

Rikku bounced a little. "Oh stop it! Your way too down! Spira is free from Sin now! Even you Guado deserve to be happy of it." She said. Zell smiled knowing that she was right. "Yeah. Seymour deceived everyone. Even his own people. You shouldn't be blamed for what happened. It was all Seymour's fault, not your's. You guys really need to get out of this forest and make peace with everyone again. I'm sure they'll forget what happened after that."

Tromell smiled. He looked like he had almost forgot how to do the very expression. "Thank you, Sir Zell. You are too kind even if we tried to hurt you too." He straightened and placed his eyes back on Yuna. "Ah, well, what brings the High Summoner to these woods?"

folded her hands behind her back, smiling. "Well, I'm a sphere hunter now."

Tromell tilted his head. "Hm. A sphere hunter?" He asked. Rikku nodded stepping forward. "We hunt spheres." She said. Tromell looked very interested. "You don't say...well then, please allow me to give you this. It is of no use to us." He said holding out a sphere to Yuna. Yuna's eyes lit up and she took it. Rikku threw her fist up into the air. "Score!" She said brightly. Yuna nodded. "Thank you." She said politly.

Tromell nodded and bowed to her. "Feel free to visit us anytime, Lady Yuna. We would be delighted to see you and your friends again."

* * *

The group of teens returned to the Celsius and made the next decision to visit Bevelle, Yuna's home town. It was still the same as last time but there was a few hovering crafts here and there. In a way it reminded Zell of Esthar.  
They went up towards the big building stopping when a woman gasped. "L-Lady Yuna? Please, this way!" She said hurrying away. Everyone looked at each other before shrugging and followed the woman.

They followed the woman up to the entrance to see a man walking up. "Oh! The High Summoner! I see you've finally decided to join New Yevon! You do us much longer, my lady. Lord Braska-may he rest in peace-would be proud. I will summon the praetor immediately. I beg your leave." He turned and hurried away.

Zell looked at Yuna, who was very pale. She began to play with her fingers. The martial artist tilted his head. "Huh?" He muttered. Squall was watching her too. But Rikku didn't seem to notice. "Pushy, isn't he?" She asked with her hand on her hip.

Yuna looked around nervously. "We should leave."

Everyone looked at her. "Hey, what's the matter, Yunie?" Rikku asked. Yuna blushed looking down. "Well, you see, there was this arrangement...with the son of the chairman of New Yevon. I turned the offer down, but I thought it'd be kind of awkward."

Irvine tilted his hat back a little. "What kind of arrangement?" He asked, curiously.

Yuna's face went redder and she shook her head. "You don't want to know." She told him. Rikku stepped over to her and looked at her face. "Yuna!"

Paine shook her head turning to leave. "You're probably right. Let's go."

Everyone but Rikku nodded and started away. "Huh? No, wait! Wait! Hey!" She said hurrying after them. None of them had gotten very far when the entrance doors opened. Everyone stopped to look at it.

Behind the doors revealed a handsome young man about Zell and Squall's age. He was wearing unsual looking robes and a blue head band around his head. His hair was silver blonde and the bangs stuck up a little very much like Zell's. He stepped forward, looking a little surprised and relieved at the same time. He looked at each of them for a second before bowing the prayer to them.  
"A pleasure, Lady Yuna. I am Baralai, Praetor of New Yevon." He had a very smooth and boyish voice, yet there was something about him.

Zell couldn't figure out what it was, but he sort of liked this guy. The man seemed very peaceful, yet firm. In a way, he reminded Zell, Squall and Irvine of Quistis, only not so demanding. Then again, they had only just met him.

Rikku looked Baralai over. "So, you're the chairman's son?"

Yuna groaned a little, lowering her head. Her face even redder. Zell smirked seeing the embarrassment she was going through. The arrangement must have been really bad to embarrass her like that. Baralai, however, shook his head. "Ah. As it happens, the chairman has recently resigned. As did his son, the praetor. They were trying to take too much power. We had to ask them to leave. Now the younger members run the party by mutual consensus, of course." He told them.

Yuna shook her head. "I'm sorry to hear that." She said, though she sounded more pleasant.

Baralai smiled at her. "So you see, Lady Yuna...It is not I that was meant to marry the High Summoner." Again Yuna's face went bright red and she nervously glanced at the others. Zell just laughed shaking his head. "Not that we wouldn't appreciate your support. On the contrary, you'd be welcome. I understand if your feelings toward Yevon are mixed. But I hope that you could put that aside and join our cause." Baralai said, trying to make the situation not so embarrassing. "The world is changing, and there are many who are finding it difficult to keep up. New Yevon wishes to help those who feel lost in the winds of change. If you'll excuse me, there are matters which require my attention. Oh, and should come across any spheres of Spira's past, please do let us know." He bowed to them. "My lady." He said pleasantly before returning back inside.

Rikku looked cheerful, as always. "Oohh! So, what do you think?" She asked. Yuna looked at her in puzzlement. Paine just groaned. "I think I've heard enough. What now?" She asked. Yuna looked around. "Let's go back to the Celsius and see if Zanarkand has cleared up a little." Everyone nodded and did just that.

* * *

Unfortunately, there was still a lot of people in Zanarkand. Yuna was very disappointed. She wanted to go down there now to visit the place, but didn't want to be disturbed. She was tired of all the attention. "So what should we do now? Should we just go down or do something else for a bit?"

Zell grinned then. "Hey! I got an idea! Where's Kimahri? I kind of want to see the big guy."

Yuna and Rikku both smiled. So they went to Mt. Gagazet.

They had just entered the clearing when Kimahri walked up. Zell grinned happily. He was so glad to see his old friend. "Kimahri!" Yuna said merrily. The Ronso slightly smiled and approached them. "Yuna look well. Kimahri glad." He looked at Zell and his face lit up.

The young martial artist grinned up at him. "Hey, big guy! How's it going?"

The Ronso didn't answer right away. Instead he wrapped his powerful arms around Zell and gave him a bear hug. Everyone just laughed, except Paine and Squall. The Gunblader just smiled and folded his arms. He could see that his friend was so happy to be seeing everyone again. He knew how much he had missed Spira. "Kimahri glad to see Zell. Kimahri knew Zell would return." The large Ronso said letting Zell go.

The martial artist just smiled. "Hey, I missed you all. I had to come back." He looked at Squall and Irvine. "Kimahri, that's Squall and Irvine. They're my friends from Gaia."

The tall Ronso folded his arms and stuck out his chest as if he was very proud. "Kimahri honored to meet the great friends of Zell. Zell tell Kimahri all about friends." He said sounding very proud. The other two SeeDs just smiled and saluted him. "Zell told us all about you too, Kimahri. Frankly, I'm very glad to meet you." The cowboy said. Kimahri nodded still looking proud. Rikku looked up at Kimahri with a smile. "So what's it like being an elder?"

Kimahri shook his head now looking tired. "Elder's job difficult. Kimahri troubled." Everyone frowned.

Suddenly a much larger Ronso walked up. He was dark grey and had black hair. His horn was very pointy and he wore yellow. "Elder. Lian and Ayde not here! Children have left mountain. Gone to search for elder's horn!" The Ronso growled. Everyone looked up at Kimahri. "What's going on?" Yuna asked.

Kimahri sighed shaking his head. "Lian and Ayde still pups, but bear Ronso future. Say they search for way to fix Kimahri's broken horn."

The other Ronso just growled. "If Kimahri act like true elder, these things not happen!" He snarled.

Zell immediately felt annoyed. "Hey!" He barked but Kimahri grabbed his shoulder holding him back. The Ronso knew him too well. "Maybe so." Was all he said.

The Ronso just snorted and looked at Yuna. "High Summoner Yuna, it is Garik's honor." He said. Yuna just nodded. "Nice to meet you." She said. Garik just stood taller. "Garik know Yuna save Spira, but Ronso not saved yet." He said in a growl. Yuna glanced over at Kimahri then looked back at Garik. "Um...we'll take care of Lian and Ayde." She said. The Ronso just grunted and walked away. Kimahri had to hold Zell back a little from charging after the larger Ronso. "Zell must not do anything. Garik mighty Ronso warrior. Garik will eat Zell alive if Garik must. Kimahri would not like that." He said trying to calm his younger friend.

Zell growled finally relaxing. "That jerk! How could he say that about you, Kimahri?! After all we done to save your people!"

Kimahri shook his head, gently patting the smaller's shoulder. "Garik lost all. Zell must not worry. Kimahri will deal with Garik when time comes." He said. Zell sighed frustrated. "All right, Kim. I hope you know what you're doing." He said lightly patting Kimahri's hand.

The Ronso just nodded before looking at Yuna. "Kimahri worried about Lian and Ayde. But Kimahri cannot leave mountain. If Yuna find Lian and Ayde, bring them back to Gagazet." He said. Yuna nodded smiling. "We will. They'll be just fine with us too, Kimahri." She said. The Ronso just smiled and gave her a hug. The group soon returned to the airship.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey! Glad you're all still reading the story! I was worried that you all gave up on me. Anyway, let's jump right to the story.**

**Chapter 6.**

Everyone stared down at Zanarkand from the window. There wasn't many people there now. They all looked at one another before nodding. They were going to go now. They all stepped up, spying the camp fire built. There was still a decent number of people there. But not as much as there was before. "A tourist attraction." Paine said calmly. Rikku made a disgusted noise. "Whose idea was that?" She asked annoyed. Zell growled clenching his fist. "Whoever it was, they'll be tasting my fist. I can't believe they did this."

Yuna just sighed and shook her head. They walked up the hill a ways before spotting someone familiar on the hill. "Hey, is that..." Zell said. Yuna looked at him. "Let's go see." She said. All six climbed the small hill and approached the man.

The man had turned, revealing his face and Zell knew who it was. His eyes lit up a little. He had respected this man quite a bit. He had aways been so peaceful and friendly. Even after the last meeting when he fought against Yuna.

"Yuna?" Issaru asked walking towards them. "You've changed so much, I hardly recognize you." He looked at Zell and smiled. "Aye, and you too, Zell. I didn't recognize you at all. Remember me?"

Yuna and Zell both nodded. "Of course, we remember you. It's good to see you again, Issaru." She said. Issaru smiled. "I'm honored that you remembered me." He said. Yuna tilted her head. "Why are you here?" She asked. Issaru nodded. "Ah, yes. I've been helping Cid with his work." He said. Everyone looked right at Rikku who held up her hands. "Don't look at me." She said. Issaru just nodded. "I guide people through Zanarkand, once the most sacred of places. People come from all over Spira. Sphere hunters too." He said. Yuna looked very upset. "Oh." She said. Rikku growled. "Ugh! What the heck is Pop thinking?" She growled. Zell shook his head, with a look on his face. "Man, so my future father in law is being a retard." Everyone looked at him then laughed. Rikku giggled. She shook her head. Issaru just chuckled. "I see this is upsetting you. But this is a place of great historical importance for all of Spira."

Yuna looked down feeling slightly ashamed yet sad. "I know. But, still...I never wanted anyone else to stand there." She said, looking away. Issaru tilted his head in confusion. "Yuna?" He asked. The young High Summoner shook her head. "Nothing. Forget it." She said. Everyone was still watching her.

Issaru nodded. "If you say so...Ah, I must be getting to work now. Please take care, Yuna." He bowed them then left.

Everyone looked at Yuna again. "Yuna, you all right?" Zell asked. Yuna sighed lowering her head. She nodded. "Yes. It's just...you know how it is, Zell. You were there. So was Rikku. We made our final stand here. This was suppose to be the end of our journey when we were going to fight Sin." She said. She smiled at him then. "It's because of you, Zell, that I made that decision. You and Tidus." Zell grinned at her. "Don't worry, Yunie. We'll see him again." He said. Yuna smiled nodding. "I hope your right."

Squall looked towards the large dome. "Is that where we're going?"

Yuna and Zell both turned around to look at the center of the city. Then they both nodded. "Yeah. The sphere oscillo-finder said there was a sphere here. Let's go find it." Yuna said. Everyone nodded and began walking down the path, heading into the ruined city.

With Yuna in the lead, the group wandered the dusty path through the large building. There were monkeys all over the place and it so fun watching them scurrying all over. Rikku was very excited to see them. She kept bouncing up and down like a little monkey herself. Zell just laughed while Paine and Squall rolled their eyes. They wandered down the path before catching sight of a three little kids, who were looking around. Zell immediately saw one of them was Pacce, the little boy Guardian who he had taken a great liking to.

"Taro, Hana, you ready?" Pacce asked his two little friends.

The two nodded looking at him. The other boy looked confused. "Um...What was the clue again?" He asked. The girl bounced up and down. "Come on! It's "key!" She reminded him.

Pacce nodded. "All right, let's head out!" He said in demanding tone. The other saluted him. "Yes, sir!" Then the three of them hurried through the hall.

Zell laughed as he watched them leave. Then the group hurried after the kids. They found them further up at a fork in the road. "Which way?" Taro asked looking confused. Pacce pointed at the path on the right. "That way!" He said. The girl giggled. "Yes!" She said. They started to leave when Zell let out a whistle to catch their attention.

It worked.

The three kids turned around and they watched Pacce's eyes light up. "Lady Yuna! Do you remember me?" He asked hurrying over. Yuna giggled and nodded. "Sure I do. You're Pacce." She said. Pacce began jumping up and down happily. "You remembered me!" He looked to his friends, pointing at the girl first. "This is Hana, and this is Taro." He said. The two kids bowed them. "Nice to meet you, Lady Yuna." Taro said. Pacce looked over at Yuna's other companions and his eyes got bigger seeing Zell. "Zell!" He said excitedly. He ran forward and jumped up into the martial artist's arms.

Zell laughed and lift Pacce up with one hand. The little boy giggled. "Hey, short stuff. How's it going?" He asked then gently putting him down. Pacce shrugged. "We're having fun!" He said. Zell nodded. "I see that."

Yuna turned a little. "What are you doing here? There are fiends around." She said. Hana laughed. "Fiends? Ha!" She said looking proud. Pacce nodded. "Uh-huh! That's right! We're sphere hunters!" He said. The three of them quickly posed. "The Kinderguardians!" They said at the same time. Taro was a little late though. The teens all laughed or smiled.

Irvine tilted his hat back. "So, your on some kind of treasure hunt, eh?"

The three kids nodded. Yuna folded her arms behind her back. "So "key" must be the clue to finding the treasure." She said. Pacce nodded. "Uh-huh. That's right!" He said rather proudly. Hana scolded him. "Shhh! We paid fifteen whole gil for that!" She said. Everyone looked at her. She sighed shaking her head. "Come on, let's go!" Pacce nodded. "Kinderguardians, move out!" He ordered. Taro and Hana ran off. Pacce turned to the Gullwings and SeeDs. "See ya, Lady Yuna!" He waved. He looked at Zell. "Bye, Zell!" Then he ran off.

Zell waved after him. "Catch ya later, Pacce!" He called after him.

Irvine looked at Zell. "So who was that?" He asked. Rikku turned towards him. "That's Pacce. He's Issaru and Maroda's little brother." She informed him.

Squall tilted his head. "Wasn't Issaru a summoner?"

Yuna, Rikku and Zell all nodded. "Yeah, he was. Maroda and Pacce was his Guardians. Or at least Maroda was." Yuna said. Squall frowned a deeper frown. "Then why did they take Pacce along with them on that journey. Zell told us that the summoners die if they summon the Final Aeon. And their Guardian became the Final Aeon."

Yuna nodded. "That's right."

The young commander folded his arms looking stern now. "So what were they going to do about Pacce if Issaru had been the one to fight Sin with his Final Aeon?" Everyone went quiet. That had really got them. Zell frowned at that thought. What would have Issaru done with Pacce if he and Maroda was going to die fighting Sin? Certainly they wouldn't have just left Pacce to fend for himself. No one spoke for a long time. There was no way of answering that question unless they asked Issaru.

Yuna shook her head. "Let's just go now." She said. Everyone nodded and they began walking down the path again.

It was only not long after they found one of Leblanc's goons. He was holding a radio up to his mouth. "Come in. Come in. Do you read me?" He kept saying. After a second there was another voice. "Oh, hey. I wanted to double check that clue. It's "mon", right?" He asked. A silent answer. "Nah, it's just that I head some kids saying it was "key". Yeah, I figured that it was "mon". Over and out." The goon said.

The group of friends looked at each other confusion. "The clues are "key" and "mon"?" Paine asked.

The goon jumped and spun around. "Wha...? The Gullwings!" He gasped. Yuna scratched her head. "Key-mon?" She asked. Rikku squealed in delight and pointed at a little monkey. "Monkey!"

The goon growled. "We won't let you off so easily!" He then charged.

Immediately everyone stepped aside and the goon ran past them, right off the path and down a cliff. "Oops." Zell laughed.

The group kept on walking down the path, laughing about how dumb Leblanc's men were. They eventually found their way in the Chamber of the Fayth. And Rikku's father, Cid. "Welcome!" He said instantly when he saw them walk in. "Well, I'll be. If it isn't Yuna!" The Al Bhed said cheerfully. "Come to buy a clue from Uncle Cid, have you?" He asked. Rikku made a disgusted sound as she stood by Zell, who also was scowling. "Fryd yna oui drehgehk!" She exclaimed. Cid looked at her in puzzlement. "Huh?" Then his eyes caught sight of Zell and his face went red and his eyes darkened. "YOU!!" He yelled.

Zell cowered a little. "Uh-oh."

The outraged Al Bhed started forward but Yuna and Rikku quickly blocked his path. "Tuh'd ajah drehg ypuid ed, Bubc!" The blonde Al Bhed yelled at her father, scowling. Cid glared at Zell dangerously, who tried to hide behind Squall. Squall kept trying to move out of the way but Zell moved with him. "Zell! Knock it off, you wimp!" He barked as he tried to move. Zell didn't listen. He just tried to hide from his girlfriend's father.

Irvine was laughing though. "And you said that he was your future father in law." Zell cringed knowing that was a bad thing to say.

"FRYD!!" Cid roared.

Everyone winced at the booming sound of his voice. The Al Bhed began ranting and raving in his own language and stomping around in circles. Rikku and Paine both winced as he yelled in Al Bhed. Cid kept yelling up a storm while his daughter was yelling back at him in Al Bhed. They soon began glaring at each other and exchanging words in their language. And by the looks of it, they weren't saying very friendly things.

"E muja res, tyt!! Yht drana ec hudrehk oui lyh tu ypuid dryd!!" Rikku finally yelled stomping her foot.

Cid looked very surprised. He even stepped back away from her. His eyes quickly went over to Zell, who stared back with confusion. There had been passion in Rikku's voice when said that, whatever she had said. Cid looked back at her with a huffy look. "P-pid...Pid ra mavd oui! Yht huf oui'na cyoehk oui muja res!"

Rikku nodded tilting her head. "Oac." She simply said.

There was a very long silence before Cid rubbed his bald head and looked up. "E's hud nayto du pa y knyhtby oad." He groaned. Rikku immediately broke down into a fit of giggles. She stepped forward and hugged him. He shook his head hugging her back before stepping back. He gave Zell a glare before looking back at Yuna. "So, you got a bone to pick?"

That made everyone sigh in relief. They could already tell that whatever Rikku had said to Cid cooled him off a little. Yuna just nodded. "You bet I do!" She said. Cid folded his arms and shifted his weight. "So, what's eatin' ya?"

Yuna sighed looking around. "Well, I can't really say, but...it's...just not right."

Cid looked confused. "Huh?" He asked. Zell figured it was all right to speak up now. "What your doing here in Zanarkand, Cid. It's just not right." He said. Cid gave him a cool look but Rikku jabbed him in the side with her finger. "It's like turning the ruins of Home into a theme park!" She complained.

Cid scratched his head looking down. "Huh? I see your point." He shrugged before turning and walking away.

Everyone looked at Rikku for an answer. She just shook her head. "Hey, don't look at me like that. My pops is hard to read. I think we should just let him think about it." She said. Yuna nodded. "Your right." She looked towards the entrance of Chamber. "So shall we?"

Everyone nodded and went through. They walked up some stairs and came to a clearing. Zell sucked in some air as he recognized this place. Squall looked at him. "Zell, what's wrong?" He asked. Zell sighed looking down. "This is where we fought Yunalesca. Yuna lost her faith here." He said. Yuna turned around when she heard him. She shook her head. "I didn't lose my faith, Zell. I just realized the truth. That's all. And it was you and Tidus who helped me figure that out."

Zell shook his head. "That's not just it. This is also where Auron lost his life when your father defeated Sin." Everyone understood. If there was one person Zell respected the most, it was Auron.

"Muahahahahaha!" An sinister laugh echoed all around them.

Everyone jumped and looked around. "What the?!" Irvine said. Rikku leaned against Zell, who put an arm around her as if to protect her. "Who's there?" She called.

"You have done well to make it this far, sphere hunters. But you will not have the treasure you seek so easily." The mysterious voice called.

Paine grabbed her sword. "So we fight!"

There was a pause. The mysterious voice cleared his throat. "If you want the treasure, you must speak the password."

Everyone looked confused. Zell and Irvine looked at one another. "Hey, doesn't that sound like that Issaru guy?" The cowboy asked. Squall looked at him. "It does sound like him." He said. Paine just glanced at them. "Password?" She asked. Yuna shrugged. "The clues?" She asked. Rikku jumped and down. "Oh, I know! The password is "monkey"!" She said cheerfully.

"Uh...yes, good. Uh, okay! So now tell me: What is the meaning of life?" The mysterious man said.

Everyone looked at each other. "What?!" Zell asked in disbelief. Yuna looked around. "Is that you, Issaru?" She called.

There was a yelp. "Uh, is that your final answer?" The man said nervously.

"It is Issaru!" Zell said after casting a Scan. "The jig is up! Show yourself, Issaru!" Rikku said stomping a foot.

There was a groan. "Uh...fine."

Everyone turned when they heard someone kick a stone and they saw Issaru coming up the stairs. His face slightly pink from embarrassment. He walked up to the others, who were all scowling at him. "Um, what are you doing?" Yuna asked.

Issaru shrugged. "My job. I bring excitement to those who've come to see this sacred place. I, too, once travelled with hope of seeing this place someday. Working here somehow fulfills that wish."

Everyone nodded as they listened to the Ex- Summoner. "I see..." Yuna said. Issaru rubbed the back of his neck. "I must apologize for the quiz. Here's something for your trouble." He pulled something out of his pocket and handed Yuna a new garment grid.

Yuna nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Issaru."

Issaru nodded back. Then he gave them a cheezy smile. " 'kay! Thanks for coming! And remember, the ruins of Zanarkand will be waiting!" He said in an announcer's voice. Everyone but Squall and Paine broke into a fit of laughter. The two stoic teens just looked at Issaru dully and as if he was crazy. Issaru bowed to them all and left.

Paine smirked as she looked at the others. "Ex-Summoners come in all flavors."

Everyone laughed. Yuna nodded with a giggle. "Apparently so." She said with amusement. Rikku looked at the others. "We done here?" She asked impatiently. Zell smiled shaking his head. That was his girl alright. Paine looked around. "The sphere oscillo-finder picked up a signal. There should still be a sphere nearby." She said. Everyone looked around.

"Oh." Yuna said.

Rikku nodded. "Right." The guys just looked at each other and shrugged. "Well...shall we then?" Irvine said motioning towards the stairs across the way. They all nodded and walked towards it.

The group of teens wandered around in a stone walled corridor. They ran into a few fiends but it wasn't anything they couldn't take care of. They finally found a dead end. Only it wasn't empty. There was a sphere sitting on a crystal pedestal. The group smiled and hurried forward. Yuna stepped forward and grabbed a hold of the sphere.  
"Aha! Found you!" Rikku said happily.  
Zell nodded. "Now let's get out of here before a fiend shows up."

That was the que for one to appear.

The ground rumbled and everyone turned to see a very large fiend standing there. "We're not alone." Squall and Paine said at the same time as they grabbed their blades.

Rikku cowered a little with a whine. "Think we need a password?"

Zell tightened his gloves and snapped into a defensive stance. "How about "kick...its...ass." He and Paine said.

Zell, Paine and Squall was going to fight it first. The three of them charged the Guardian Beast one by one. Attacking it fast and hard. It only got harder when the beast began firing multi missiles at them from its back. This one was a little tough.

"Ow!" Zell groaned as he was knocked back. He fell against the wall, keeping himself up on his feet with one hand. Rikku hurried over to his side. "Zell! Are you all right?!" She asked. Zell nodded as he stood up straight. "Yeah. I'm fine." he said. Yuna stepped in for him. She aimed her guns and fired like crazy. It was still a little difficult to defeat.

Squall looked more serious than he had before. He quickly stepped forward and threw his hand forward. "Alexander!"

The ground underneith everyone began shaking and the area completely transformed into a whole different area. Everyone looked around at the mountains surrounding them. The three girls were stunned but the SeeDs looked stern. Suddenly there was a loud boom making the girls gasp and turn around. Yuna, Rikku and Paine stepped back in alarm. "Rumo luf!" Rikku exclaimed. They could see a very large machine coming towards them. "What is that?!" Yuna gasped.

Zell smirked. "Alexander."

The metallic GF stomped forward a few more steps before opening up it's shoulders and began firing missiles. The missiles flew forward and began smashing into the Guardian Beast, which roared every time it was hit. Then after a few more missiles, it exploded into a million of pyreflies. Then Alexander disappeared, going right back into Squall's mind. The three Gullwing members were looking at him.

"Do I even want to ask?" Paine asked skeptically.

Zell shrugged. "It's just a GF. His name is Alexander. Don't be so surprised just yet. Wait till you see what Squall really can do." He said. Yuna nodded. "You're right, Zell. We shouldn't be surprised. But can we really help it? You're always full of surprises." She said with a smile. Rikku nodded.

Then the group turned towards the sphere before frowning.

"What? It's only half a sphere." Rikku complained.

Yuna stepped forward and picked up the sphere looking at it. She tried to activate it but it didn't work. Paine was extremely frustrated. She threw her hands up into the air and turned away. "All that...for nothing." She said in annoyance. Yuna sighed then shook her head. "I can't believe how much this place has changed."  
The three SeeDs just rubbed the back of their necks not knowing what to say. They decided to leave right then and there.

* * *

**Al Bhed Translation:**

Fryd yna oui drehghk!- What are you thinking!

Tuh'd ajah drehg ypuid ed, Bubc!-Don't even think about it, Pops!

FRYD!- WHAT!

E muja res, tyt! Yht drana ec hudrehk oui lyh tu ypuid dryd!- I love him, dad! And there is nothing you can do about that!

P-pid...Pid ra mavd oui! Yht huf oui'na cyoehk oui muja res!"- B-but...But he left you! And now you're saying you love him!"

Oac-Yes

E's hud nayto du pa y knyhtby oad-I'm not ready to be a grandpa yet.

Rumo luf-Holy cow!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7.**

They all returned to the ship in silence. Yuna gave the broken sphere to Shinra to see if he could run it through his machine but it wouldn't work. "We need the other half of the sphere to make it work. It's worthless without it." He told them. Yuna sighed shaking her head. She turned and walked out. Everyone watched her go. Zell looked over at Rikku, who looked back. The Al Bhed girl glanced around before going over to his side. "Zell, go talk to her. You're the only one who could really getting her to laugh." She whispered to him.

Zell nodded before going to follow Yuna. He didn't have to go far. She was just standing outside the door with her arms folded and she was looking down. "Hey, Yuna. Are you okay?"

Yuna looked up and forced a smile. "Yeah. Just thinking." She said. Zell stepped over to her side and looked down at her. He gave her a raised eyebrow and put his fist on his waist. "Yuna, don't tell fibs." He said. Yuna gave a weak laugh and shook her head. "Seriously, Zell. I'm fine. I really am thinking."

Zell nodded straightening. "It's about Tidus again, isn't it?" he asked. Yuna lowered her head before nodding. "I'm just afraid that we'll never find him." She said. Zell tilted his head. "Are you really looking for him? You think he's out of the Farplane?"

Yuna lowered her gaze. "I don't know. It's just that sphere that has got my mind just boucing around. That one with the man."

Zell nodded. "I know it looks like him, but seriously, Yuna. I don't think it's him." He said. Yuna looked at him. "I know. I just have to know who he is though." She said. Zell nodded. "You and I both. I have to know who this guy is. Not to mention, find out what happened to Ifrit, Shiva and Bahamut." He met his friend's eyes. They both gave each other a smile. "Let's do it together, Yuna. We'll find out what's going on." He said. Yuna nodded. "Yes. Let's do it."

They both went back into the cockpit. Brother turned around in his chair. "Ehlusehk tydy! Gullwings, du ouin cdydecuhc!"

Everyone turned around to look at them. Zell and Squall looked at each other as they stepped forward. "Rao, yfacusa." Buddy said. Rikku hurried over. "What's awesome?" She asked. Buddy turned around in his chair and looked at the others. "We're getting reports of an "awesome sphere". Looks like already drawn quite a crowd. The reports are from Kilika Woods."

Zell's eyes lit up at hearing the town's name. He remembered Kilika Port very well. It was where his journey first started. Yuna smiled. "I want that sphere." She said. Zell looked over at her and grinned. Rikku nodded throwing her fist up into the air. "It's as good as ours! Let's scramble!" She said cheerfully. Brother stomped his foot. "Who is leader? I am! I give the orders around here!" Zell rolled his eyes and tilted his head. Irvine and Squall did the same. Paine smirked. "We're listening." She said calmly. Brother paused looking surprised then threw his fist up into the air. "Let's go! Party! Party!" He gave an Al Bhed war cry. Everyone nodded.

The three Gullwings and three SeeDs walked around in the harbor. Zell was so amazed of what it looked like now. He had remembered the very first day he was in Spira so well. He remembered what Sin had done to the village. Everything had been destroyed. But now, everything was back. It was a beautiful and wonderous place. The village was built right on the beach and a little over the water.

As the group walked, Yuna was once again explaining to Zell's two friends about what had happened to Kilika Port those two years ago. The two only nodded. Yuna looked at her friends. "I wonder what this "awesome" sphere is like." She said almost very excited. Rikku giggled as she wrapped her arms around Zell and hugged him. ""Well it's definitely awesome! Don't you think, Zell?" She asked. Zell laughed as he picked her up and spun around in a circle. "Yeah! It's going to be awesome when we get it!"

Paine rolled her eyes as she pushed past them. "Keep this up and someone will beat us to it." She said. Squall nodded as he looked at Zell. "She's right. Stop playing around."

Rikku and Zell winced. "Sorry. Sorry! Hey, wait up!" She called and hurried after Paine. Zell just blushed. They hurried down the docks. While they were looking around the town, they saw something happening. A man had just been flung out of a hut, catching himself on the railing. Zell's eyes widened when he saw who it was. Bartello! The Guardian of the one woman Zell didn't like that much.

"Dona!" Bartello said sounding very upest.

The group of six stopped several feet away from him. "My, my, my...Fine, have it your way!" They heard Dona's voice come from inside. Bartello sighed as he lowered his head. "Dona!" He cried out. There was a sharp "Hmph!" from inside the hut. "Go on, leave!" The large man sighed again and lowered his head, looking pained. "Dona..." He whispered before he turned and rushed right past the group, not even paying attention to who they were.

The six friends just looked around at one another. "Huh? What's wrong with Bartello?" Yuna asked. Zell shrugged before motioning to the hut. "Let's ask her." He said as he walked towards the hut. Everyone nodded and went to the door, which was open.

They just looked in and spotted Dona, looking out the window. She turned around when she noticed someone watching her. Slowly the six entered.

Dona snorted as she walked forward. "Well, look who we have here."

Yuna nodded in greeting. "Good to see you."

Dona looked at Zell and frowned. It was clear she remembered him. Zell frowned right back. He remembered the very last time he saw and spoke to her. It was in the Djose Temple, when she bullying Yuna. Zell had totally blew up in her face for her cruelty. They never spoke to one another again after that.

Yuna tensed when she noticed the looks Zell and Dona were giving one another. "Um..." She paused. Rikku had noticed too, so she interveined. "What's with Bartello?" She interrupted. Dona looked at her and shrugged. Her slender arms folded over her chest. "Nothing out of the ordinary. I am with the Youth League and he is with New Yevon. It makes living together rather difficult." She said. Everyone looked at one another.

Yuna, however, frowned. "But you've been together so long..." She cut off.

Dona just frowned at her. "Butt out." She said before turning around and going back to the window. Zell just glared at her but they all turned and left Dona's hut.

They all walked down the dock right through the large gates. There was a lot of people standing together and looking around. The group of six just stopped in the back and looked around. Yuna looked very worried. "These are all sphere hunters?" she asked. Paine shook her head. "I don't think so." She said. Irvine, once again, tilted his hat back. "Sure a lot o' people, dontcha think?"

Rikku then pointed. "Look over there! Who's that?" She asked. They all looked.

A man had just walked up to the large crowd. He was a strange looking man. He stood up about 5'10''. He had very long brown hair. Zell had never seen a man with very long hair like this guy before. It was pulled back, except for a long strand of bangs hanging down his right side. He was handsome looking, but just a little odd. He had thin rimmed, silver glasses on the end of his nose. He was wearing a tight red body suit. Zell's eyes however, stopped on the man's right leg and arm. They weren't real. He had a mechanical arm and leg. And he was using a long metal cane to walk. It was only a wonder how he got that way. He was slightly older than of the three SeeDs.

"Nooj." Paine had said lowly.

Everyone looked at her. Yuna tilted her head. "Meyvn of the Youth League, right?" She asked. Zell glanced at her. "Meyvn?" He asked. Rikku nodded. "He's the leader of the Youth League. I don't know anything about him though. I've only heard his name."  
Paine just looked away. She seemed to know something but she wasn't going to share. They all looked forward at Nooj.

"Greetings, friends!" He began his speech, with one hand raised. "An important sphere is hidden in Kilika Temple. A sphere documenting the true history of Spira. We are here today to demand that New Yevon make the contents of that sphere public. Yet, as always, the voice seeking truth goes ignored." He paused to look around. "My friends, I ask you: why? Because New Yevon wants to hide the truth! Just as the temples did before them! I tell you now, this has gone on long enough! My friends, stand with me, and together we will bring the truth back to the people." The crowds burst into cheers. Nooj then chuckled with amusement. "But...let's not overdo it. Our opponments aren't as young as they used to be." Everyone but the six friends laughed. They all watched Nooj turn around and leave.

Yuna looked at the others. "Not exactly what I had expected."

The others nodded. Rikku pouted and stomped her foot. "Hey, that's our sphere! Oh, poopie! So what now? Call it quits?" She asked with a sigh. Paine smirked as she folded her arms. "Don't know about you, but I could use an awesome sphere." She said. The others smiled slyly. Irvine nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's get that sphere." They all nodded.

"Hmm." Yuna hummed. "Okay! They can't decide who it belongs to? I say we make it our own. Right?"

Everyone grinned. "Right!" They all said. Zell threw his fist into the air. "Awesome sphere! The SeeDs and Gullwings are here!"  
The six all laughed and hurried towards the forest, Yuna pretty much in the lead.

They entered the forest and took the path towards the temple only to be stopped by a large crowd. "Hey, what's going on?" Zell asked as he tried to look over heads. Irvine, being the tallest, lifted his head a little higher. "Looks like they've blocked the path. We can't get through this way." He said. They heard shouting from ahead. "Hand over the sphere! The temples have controlled Spira's secrets long enough!" Someone shouted. A guard blocking the gates with a few more looked confused. "Spheres? Secrets? What's this about?" He shouted back. Another citizen growled. "Don't play dumb! We know you're guarding something!" He yelled. Another guard growled right back. "Hey! We're here to guard our families from rabble like you!" He shouted.

The group of six friends backed away. "Oh boy. This doesn't look good." Zell muttered. Yuna nodded. "I agree. Come on! I know another way around!" She said. They all nodded and hurried down another path.

They rushed through a few bushes before they found their way near the temple. There was another crowd being blocked off by guards. Dona was, surprisingly, in the lead. A temple priest was standing between two guards. "Which is why I keep telling you..." He was saying. Dona snorted as she stepped closer. "Shut up. Just give us the sphere and we'll be on our way." She said, harshly. The temple priest shook his head. "I don't know what you are talking about." He said. Dona didn't look very happy.

Zell and Rikku looked at one another. "Do you think he's telling them the truth?" The blonde SeeD asked. Squall shook his head. "He's lying." he muttered.

Just then a man came running down the stairs, waving a sphere in his hand. "Hey! I found the sphere!" Everyone looked at him. Dona smirked. "There you have it."

Suddenly there was a loud rumbling noise. Everyone looked around with wide eyes.  
"What's that?" Dona gasped.  
A huge robot then rolled forward. There were screams from the crowds and people went running away. The Temple priest just laughed. "I had a little something prepared for just such an occasion. Nice knowing you!" He then turned and hurried to the side. The robot rolled foward quickly.

The Gullwings and SeeDs looked at one another. "What do you think?" Irvine asked. Yuna grabbed her guns and held them up. Rikku and Paine nodded as they grabbed their weapons. "Let's take it out before it harms someone." Squall said. They all nodded and rushed forward to face the robot.

They all surrounded the robot and began attacking it, one at a time. Zell punched the robot as hard, denting its surface. The slashes Squall and Paine were giving it appeared right away on the metallic skin. Everyone was doing some heavy duty damage to the robot.

Finally, Zell jumped back, waving his hands. "Get back! Here comes Leviathan!" He yelled.

Everyone quickly stepped back just as water formed right before them, creating the large sea serpent. They watched as Leviathan rose up into the air and came crashing back down onto the robot, sending it flying back into trees, sparking like crazy. It was another victory for the SeeDs and Gullwings.

Zell punched his fist into the air, grinning. "Ha! SeeDs totally kick robot butt!" He cheered. Rikku looked at him. "Hey!" She said in an accusing way. The blonde SeeD looked back at her. "Oh! Gullwings too!" Everyone laughed as they turned to look at the people watching them. Rikku tossed her bangs out of her face. "How you like that?" She said. Yuna smiled brightly. "Not bad at all!"

Dona stepped closer giving them all a look. "Just what do you think you're doing?" She asked in annoyance.

Zell smirked at her. "What do you think we're doing?" He asked folding his powerful arms over his chest. Yuna nodded. "We're sphere hunters." She said. Dona just stared dully at them. "So?"

Irvine tilted his hat back as he rest his shotgun onto his shoulder. "So, what do sphere hunters do? They hunt spheres, right?" He asked. Yuna smiled mischeivously and nodded. "Yeah! Gullwings, let's go! Sorry, Dona, the sphere is ours!" She said just as the Celsius flew over head.

Zell nodded with a grin. "That's right! SeeDs, move out!" He said starting to jog after Yuna and Rikku.

Irvine hurried after while Squall and Paine both walked up to the sphere sitting on the ground. The pepper haired girl snatched it up, smirking. "Tough luck."  
Squall nodded as he slid his gunblade away. "Maybe next time." Then the two teens in black hurried after their friends.

* * *

**Al Bhed language:**

"Ehlusehk tydy! Gullwings, du ouin cdydecuhc!-Incoming data! Gullwings, to your stations!

Rao, yfacusa-Hey awesome.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8 or 10-2 grins evilly Yet.**

**Author's Note: I am SOOOOOOOOO, SOOOOOO sorry for the long wait, everyone. It's been really crazy actually, since I last updated Zell's Story. It's just while I was writing this story, I was also playing the Final Fantasy X-2 game so that I could try and get the story down word for word but then my brother stole my games and sold them (TT! KILL BROTHER!!), and I couldn't update the story without the game or a script so that I could get the story right. But after a looong time, I finally got a hold of a script and now, I'm back online with this story. So I had no intention of stopping this story. It ****WILL**** be finished. **

**Anyway, here is the long awaited chapter that you've all been waiting for such a long time. In addition, I beg for forgiveness a thousand times over. If you wish to throw something at me, please just let it be squishy balls or something. **

* * *

**Chapter 8.**

They hurried back into the Celsius where Brother, Buddy and Shinra was waiting. Rikku and Zell were practically jumping for joy. They were hugging and spinning around each other with excitement. The others just watched them dully or laughed. "Did you see their faces! They totally wet their pants!" Rikku said happily. Zell laughed as he lift Rikku up into his arms and spun her around in circles, making her giggle like crazy. "No kidding! No one could've pulled it off better than we did!"

Yuna looked a little worried. "Maybe we over did it?" She suggested.

Brother hurried forward. "Over did it?! There is no such thing! The Gullwings shall be notorious throughout Spira!" He said. Paine and Squall both rolled their eyes as they stood back away from the excited group. "They weren't all that happy." The stoic young woman said.  
Rikku and Zell looked at her in surprise. "Huh?!" The blonde Al Bhed said in wonder. Paine shook her head. "Don't forget that notoriety can be a bad thing." She said. Squall nodded. "She's right. We shouldn't make too much trouble with both the Youth League or New Yevon. We do not want everyone mad at us." He said. Zell folded his arms with a pout on his face. "Ugh! Party poopers!"

Brother nodded jumping up and down. "So what! I want to have fun!" He said. Buddy shook his head as he turned to go back into the cockpit. "Just make sure you don't do anything to land us in hot water, okay?" He said. Rikku pouted with Zell. "Awww...where's the fun in being plain old regular sphere hunters?" She asked. Both Zell and Brother nodded. "Yeah! What she said!" The tattooed Al Bhed said pointing at Rikku.

"No joke! We're supposed to be on vaca, Squall! Let's have fun while we're here!" The blonde martial artist said, frowning at Squall.

Everyone but Yuna looked uneasy. "Oh no..." Paine muttered. The High Summoner looked at her friend. "What?" Yuna asked. Shinra walked forward. "Whenever Rikku and Brother agree...bad stuff happens." He said, with a sigh. Irvine slowly nodded rubbing the back of his neck. "Heh...and with Zell agreeing with them, it'll probably only get worst." He added. Yuna winced. "That...can't be good."

The group walked into the cockpit. Zell and Rikku were still silently celebrating that they stole the "awesome" sphere from a lot of people. Squall just stood in the corner with his eyes closed, in his deep thought mode. Irvine was just staring out the window while the others were doing whatever. "How'd the sphere analysis go?" Yuna finally spoke up. Everyone looked over at her and Shinra. The young boy was shaking his head. "Hmmm...it's just a regular movie sphere. It doesn't appear to have any special functions. You wanna take a look?" He asked. Yuna nodded. "Sure."

They waited till everyone walked over to see the sphere.

On the sphere, the movie showed the image of a very large machine that seemed to have a face. It just made Zell shiver in nervousness by just staring at it. Then a young man walked into view, staring up at the machine. It looked exactly like Tidus, except that something seemed to be a little off. The cloths were definitely apart of it. He walked right up to the machine, looking up at it. Finally, he spoke. _"You know, you're all I can count on to save Lenne."_

Zell immediately shoved the idea of this being Tidus out of his head. The man may have looked like him but he did not sound like him. His voice was much deeper and more serious than Tidus' had been. He heard Brother mutter in surprise. "Fryd eh Spira ec dryd machina?"

The blonde SeeD glanced over at his friends, who looked back with confusion and uneasiness. Even Squall looked uneasy just by the sight of that machine. "Any ideas?" Buddy asked. Shinra shook his head as he turned the movie sphere off. "Not a one. But, as machina go, it looks extremely dangerous. Definitely a weapon." He said, sounding a little uneasy. Squall stepped back, his arms folded over his chest. "Looks like we've gotten ourselves in a spot of trouble now." He said. Rikku looked over at Yuna. "Yunie, it's him." She whispered. Zell met Yuna's eyes. They were both thinking the same thing. Was it really Tidus?

"U tyr'd mega drec cbrana." Brother muttered nervously.

Everyone just stood around, looking around at one another or whispering to one another about the sphere. Brother finally stomped a foot and waved a hand. "Gullwings! Front and center!" He called. Yuna, Rikku and Paine walked forward while the three SeeDs stood back. "Squall, what do you think of this?" Zell asked, looking at his friend. Squall only glanced at him. "I don't know, Zell. All I do know is that machine is bad news. Let's only hope that it doesn't even exist." He said. Irvine nodded. "No kidding. And if it does, then let it be away from everyone where it can't be used." He said. Zell nodded in agreement.

"So, uh...Let's give back that sphere, what do you say?" Brother spoke up.

Everyone looked at him surprised. Rikku pouted. "But we worked so hard to get it!" She whined. Zell nodded as he walked over. "Yeah! And now you want to give it back?" He asked. Brother jumped up and down with a whine. "That thing is uber bad news!" He said.

Buddy shrugged. "What if we donated the sphere to the study of Spira's history? That's what being a sphere hunter was originally about, right?"

Yuna slowly nodded. "It's a little late to be bringing that up." Paine said. Rikku nodded. "Yeah! We already swiped it!" She whined. Zell nodded. "No kidding. You really think they're going to forgive us for it?" He asked. Brother only whined some more. "Well I still don't want it! We're giving it back! Now!" He demanded. Squall slowly nodded. "That would probably be the best idea. That sphere is probably dangerous to be holding anyway." He said. Yuna then nodded making the two blondes look at her in surprise.

"You don't mind?" Rikku asked. Yuna shook her head as she looked at her cousin. "I've seen it." She said. Buddy folded his arms as he just looked at her. "It's still pretty shameless to saunter up and give back the sphere we just stole." He said tilting his head. Brother gave her a dirty look. "Oui pi xiead!" He snapped and then he began to whine and cry in dispair. He obviously did not want that sphere on 'his' ship.

There was a very long silence between everyone before Yuna sighed with frustration. "Well, now, this isn't any fun at all!" She said. Zell nodded as he leaned against the wall with a moody look on his face. "No kidding! This isn't cool." He said. Squall rolled his eyes. "Anything that isn't dangerous for you, Zell, isn't cool." He said. Zell ignored that remark. Rikku leaned against the wall beside her boyfriend. "I really gotta let off some steam." She said with a pout. Shinra then perked up as he stood up on his chair. "Why don't we ask Yuna to dance?" He asked. Yuna gave him a puzzled look. "Dance?" She asked. Everyone who wasn't too serious all smiled. Brother looked very excited. "Oh? That's it! Yuna, you must dance! Our sanity depends on it!" He said happily.

Irvine grinned. "Hey, great idea! I wouldn't mind seeing some exotic dancing!" He had to duck under Zell's fist that came flying at his head. "IRVINE!" His blonde friend exclaimed. He didn't go too far because Squall did it for Zell. He waited for the cowboy to get closer to him before decking him in the arm. "Ow! Squall! What was that for?!" Irvine whined. Squall just gave him a dry look. "For opening that dirty mouth of yours."

Everyone just laughed at the look on Irvine's face. Yuna nodded. "The exercise will do us good." she said. Brother leapt into the air with a very happy look on his face. "Whoopeeeee!" He cheered. Everyone just laughed. Yuna turned and started up the stairs. "Hang tight while I get ready." She was just in the doorway when they heard music from within the ship. It really surprised everyone. "Huh?!" Zell and Irvine both muttered. "What's that sound?" Yuna asked. Brother lazily shrugged as he sat back into the pilot seat. "Ah, just some hitchhikers I picked up. They're a colorful bunch." He said. Zell grinned with Rikku. "Let's go see them!" He said cheerfully. Yuna nodded and she went with the two blondes to see who the hitchhikers were. The others just stayed behind.

The three found them in the cabin with surprisingly Tobli. The little man seemed very happy to see them. The other three were some kind of musicians. Zell recognized one of them from the Macalania forest. "Mr. Brother welcomed us aboard at Kilika Port. Let us play ya a song o' thanks!" The pudgy drum player said.

Yuna only smiled at him. "Actually, I'm singing tonight..." She was saying.

"Well then, let us accompany ye! Tha's right up our alley! Joost help us get ower tae the exit! Ay, we're lookin' forrit tae bein' part o' the show!" The drum player interrupted. Both Rikku and Zell smiled slyly at one another as they began to help Yuna push the musicians across the floor since their feet didn't seem to be working very well. Then they were all set.

That night, everyone was sitting on the deck, watching Yuna and Rikku both singing and dancing. Everyone but the two teens in black were cheering them on as they performed their numbers for them. Eventually the musicians wanted to take a break so they let Zell and Irvine play with their instruments. Everyone was astonished that they could play so well. Yuna had decided to take her own break and walk off to the side and sit by herself. Zell was watching her carefully though as he played with a guitar, playing a very energetic song for Rikku to sing to. He frowned with concern as Yuna had a very upset look on her face. She was talking to herself as well and that made him just a little more concerned.

That is until she slammed her hands down onto the ground and stood up. "Who the heck is Lenne?!" She screamed out into the sky. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and looked over at her. She looked extremely embarrassed that she would yell out like that but she was still angry. Zell and Squall looked right at each other with concerned looks before looking back at her. Yuna kept glancing away from them, trying to hide her red face before she turned back to them. "I'm going to bed." She called then stomped off. Zell lowered the guitar, wanting to go after his friend but knew that she needed time to herself. He looked over at Rikku, who looked worried. "Zell, do you think she'll be okay?" She finally asked.

Everyone looked at the blonde SeeD, who looked back at Squall. "She should be just find after a good night's rest." The dark Commander said.

Irvine nodded. "It's probably because of that dumb "awesome" sphere." He said as he gave the drum back to Donga. Zell nodded as he looked at the others. "We've got to get rid of that thing tomorrow." He then started towards the elevator. "We should all go to bed now. We have an early morning." He said. Squall nodded as he followed. The others eventually followed them.

It was very early in the morning when Zell woke up. He could hear Yuna muttering in her sleep and he had to look over at her from his bed when she cried out in her sleep. It was obvious she was having a really bad dream. He wanted to comfort her but he knew it wasn't his place to. So he tried to go back to sleep.  
Unfortunately, he couldn't because Yuna was still muttering fearfully in her sleep so he decided to get up. He went back into the empty cockpit and looked around. After a minute, he looked over at Shinra's seat. Shrugging, he went over and sat into the seat looking over the controls. It didn't look very hard at all to play around with. He sat there for a minute before pushing button, turning it on. He made sure that the volume was turned down low so it wouldn't wake up anyone else. Zell scrolled through the movies from the spheres they collected before deciding to look at the new one again.

_"You know, you're all I can count on to save Lenne." _The blond young man in the sphere said before Zell played it again and watched it thoroughly. He pushed pause and stared up at the machine, sitting before the blonde man.

Zell stared at the machina for the longest time, taking in all of its features. He didn't like this at all. This machine was dangerous. He knew that it was. What was it? He couldn't help but wonder. The blonde cupped his hand over his mouth before looking at the blonde again. 'Tidus, if that's not you, who is that?' He thought. He sighed as he shook his head and looked at the other movie sphere with the blonde in the cage. He had hit pause again to get a look at his face. It surely looked like Tidus. But the man's face was slightly blurred from age. "Tidus, where are you?" Zell whispered before he shut the machine down and just sat there looking out the window.

* * *

"What's up?" Yuna asked as soon as she was in the room.

Everyone looked up at her before shrugging lazily. It was now later in the morning. Everyone was obviously up. It had surprised both Buddy and Brother to find that Zell was already up and in the cockpit but they didn't ask what he had been doing there. Squall eventually joined them, looking very wide awake. He had announced to Zell that he had been up even before him. Not that it surprised Zell at all. Squall was always an early riser. It was like he was his own alarm clock. Sooner or later, everyone was finally in the cockpit. Shinra didn't seem to mind at all that Zell was sitting in his seat.

"Returning the sphere is all well and good, but who do we return it to?" Buddy asked as soon as Yuna had stepped up to them. Shinra shook his head. "With the Youth League and New Yevon, it's a lose-lose situation." He said as he leaned against his chair, beside Zell.

"Whoever we return it to, hopefully they won't be too mad." Irvine said, tipping his hat back once again. Brother looked over at Yuna. "What do you think Yuna?" He asked curiously. Yuna only gave him a smile. "I'll follow your orders, Leader!" She said with a tease. Brother looked stumped. "Uh...aha! As leader, I order Yuna to decide!" He said. Everyone couldn't but laugh or smirk while Yuna looked stunned. "Hey, that's cheating!" She said. Zell shook his head. "Orders are orders, Yunie. What's the decision?"

Yuna was quiet for a moment before she looked at Brother.

"Where to?" The tattooed Al Bhed asked. Yuna nodded. "I think I've decided." She said. Rikku folded her arms, looking very skeptical. "New Yevon...well, it's got "Yevon" in its name. Enough said." She said. Paine shook her head. "But the Youth League is reckless. They're the ones picking the fights." She said. Yuna looked very puzzled and confused before looking at the three SeeDs. "Well, what do you think?"

Zell flipped his slightly long bangs out of his eyes. "Why ask us, Yuna? Brother ordered you to decide." He asked. Yuna nodded. "I know. But it's just so hard to decide. I don't want anyone to be mad at me when I make the decision. But that's not going to help. Because no matter who I give it to, someone is going to be mad." She said. Squall nodded as he stepped closer. "I see your point." He then folded his arms. "Well, as far as I see it, no matter who the sphere goes to, someone will be upset. But that's how life goes. It always gives you lemons." He then shook his head. "Let's consider each group. The Youth League might be picking all the fights but they seem to be trying to bring the truth to Spira. The world's history is very important for everyone."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but they are picking fights all the time. They think that if they fight Yevonites like they are, they're going to win." Zell said.

Squall nodded. "That's true. So if we consider New Yevon, what are they going to do with the sphere? They do seem to be wanting to change a lot since what happened two years ago. They're much peaceful as they once were." He said. Zell nodded as he looked over at the Gullwings. "I kind of like that Baralai guy. He seemed quite nice. Much nicer than what I've met from Yevon so far." He then shrugged. "As for that Nooj guy, I don't know about him. He seems okay. But we haven't met him yet. We don't know what he's really like." He said. There was a long silence before Irvine shrugged. "Well then, why don't we go meet him? Let's find out if he's nice or not." He suggested.

There was another long silence before Yuna nodded. "Okay. But what if he isn't nice? What then?" She asked. Irvine lazily shrugged. "Well, if he ain't nice and he just wants to use that sphere for bad things, we'll just steal it again and take it to that Baralai guy." He said. Everyone considered it. Zell nodded as he got up out of Shinra's seat. "Well, what're we waiting for. Let's go to the Youth League." He said. Everyone nodded.

They went to the Mushroom Rock Road and went up to where the Youth League headquarters was. There were several people waiting there to greet them. They started cheering when they saw the Gullwings and SeeDs. Rikku hovered close to Zell, looking around with wide eyes. "Wow! They're pulling out all the stops!" She said as she put her arm around Zell's waist, who wrapped his own arm around her.

Yuna only looked around. "I wonder why..."

Paine shook her head. "You're the High Summoner, remember?" She asked. Yuna only looked at her with curiosity. Buddy shook his head. "Who throws a welcome party for the people who ripped them off? He asked. Brother smacked his arm. "Tadyemc, tadyemc. Cruf cusa lmycc". He muttered. Squall shook his head. "I don't like too many people." He muttered. Zell only glanced at him but grinned when Shinra went past him singing, "Gullwings, GO! La-la-la-la-la! Gullwings, FIGHT! La-la-la-laaaaa!"

The group walked right up to the man, Nooj, who had been standing outside the Headquarters. He gave them a welcoming smile as soon as they walked up. Though there was no doubt a questioning look in his eye about what they were doing there. Yuna held out the sphere. "We'd like to give you the sphere that you were looking for. Now that you have this, you can stop the fighting in Kilika." She said. Nooj stepped forward and took the sphere from her, with a warm smile. "How generous...and how sudden. Maybe you should start by introducing yourself, High Sum..."

"We're the Gullwings." Rikku cut in with her finger raised. Yuna nodded, along with the others.

Nooj only chuckled. "I see. Sphere hunters. In that case, I gratefully accept the sphere you have brought." He bowed his head respectfully to them. "On behalf of the Youth League, I thank you." He turned towards the crowds, holding the sphere high into the air. "Everyone, three cheers for the Gullwings!" Cheers immediately broke out. People were chanting the Gullwings' names while Zell and his two friends felt slightly irritated that they weren't cheering for SeeDs as well. Well, actually Squall didn't care one way or another. He only eyed Nooj suspiciously. "Maybe you'd like to invite us into your headquarters so we all can talk." He said quietly. Nooj looked over at him before nodding. "That's a good idea. There is a few things that I would like to ask, myself. And I'm sure you have questions that needed to be asked." He said. Everyone nodded and they followed him into the large tent.

After they were settled, Nooj turned to them. "So, did you watch it?" He asked as he set the sphere down onto the table. Rikku shifted nervously. "Well, um, you see...I, u...um..." She then laughed nervously but Yuna nodded. "We did." She said simply. Zell lift his head higher, frowning dully. "Yup. So what if we did?" He asked. Nooj only shook his head. "Forget." He suggested.

That seemed to surprise them a little but Yuna shook her own head. "I'm afraid I cannot." She said. Irvine nodded. "Yeah. How exactly are we suppose to forget about an ugly machine like that?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Nooj just turned his head away with a look on his face. Paine gave him a cool look. "Yuna! Don't let him push you around." She said sternly. Nooj just chuckled as he looked at her. There was no doubt recognition in his eyes. He seemed to know Paine and that really spiked up Zell's attention. He was starting to want to know how Gippal and Nooj seemed to know her.

"Some advice." Nooj said with amusement before shaking his head. "That...thing...the colossus you saw is known as Vegnagun. It possesses overwhelming destructive power. It must not be touched! Yet those Yevon fools think they can control it. The Youth League will do whatever it takes to make sure they do not get a chance to try. Trust me, you don't want to get involved." He informed them.

Zell snorted inwardly. 'A little late for that, isn't it?' He asked himself moodily. He didn't seem to like this Nooj guy that much. There was just that something that he didn't. But then again, he didn't seem too bad. He was just a little pushy, that was all.

"Tell me..." Yuna spoke softly catching their attention. "Who was the man I saw in the sphere?" She asked. Nooj only shook his head. "I cannot say." He was being honest, Zell and the other two SeeDs could tell. This man didn't know who that blonde man in the sphere was at all. "I see." Yuna spoke softly, slightly disappointed.

Suddenly Buddy rushed into the room. Zell stood up quickly from the chair he was sitting in just by seeing the look on his face. "Hey, we got a distress signal from the Celesius! Gullwings, we're leaving!" He said. Everyone looked at one another before nodding. They all started out but Zell and Squall both paused in the door to look at Nooj, who was watching them. "There's something I have to ask before we leave." The blonde said.

Nooj nodded as he rest his hand onto the cane. "Ask away."

Zell nodded before glancing over his shoulder then back. "Do you know Paine?"

The question seemed to take the leader of the Youth League by surprise but he didn't exactly show it. He only glanced over Zell's shoulder after the young woman in black leather then back at him. "What makes you think that I do?" He asked quietly. Zell shrugged. "It's just...she seems to know that you're a little pushy. No offense. And you seem to know her."

Nooj only smiled at what he said. "No offense taken. I'm afraid I can be a little pushy. But some leaders are. Sometimes they need to be a little pushy to keep things in order." He then shook his head. "As for knowing Paine, if she hadn't told you before, then I cannot. She might not want you to know. Sorry, but that question I can't answer." He said. Zell only nodded, knowing that Squall would have stopped him from pushing any further. "Okay. About that machine. Vegnagun. If you and the Youth League succeed in getting a hold of it, to stop New Yevon in using, what would you do with it?" He asked seriously.

Nooj was very quiet for a long five seconds before shaking his head. "Destroy it, of course. It's not a good thing to have around." He said in a quiet way. Zell just stared him right in the eye while he stared back, eventually glancing over to Squall. The three men just stared at one another before Zell nodded. "All right. See you around then, Nooj."

The Leader only nodded. "See you around." He said back then watched the two SeeDs walk out after the Gullwings.

"Hey, Squall. Do you believe he was telling the truth?" Zell asked once they were out of headquarters and well out of ear shot of Nooj.

The dark Commander shook his head. "No. Do you?"

"Not a chance." answered Zell, then the two walked onto the Celesius.

Apparently, there had been intruders on the ship. Someone had trashed the place pretty well but hadn't done anything to actually destroy the ship. They only tossed things around and made a mess. "Man, look at this place? This is going to take forever to clean up." Zell muttered. He turned when Shinra and Buddy walked into the room. "It's official. We've been burgled. The broken sphere from the Zanarkand Ruins is missing." the young boy said. Everyone just looked at one another. "Huh?! Why would anyone want a broken sphere?" Irvine asked. Buddy just shook his head. "Not sure. But looks like the burglar left us a present." He said, holding up a pink sphere. Shinra took the sphere and placed it into his machine. They all watched the contents. It was very short though.

It was of Leblanc and her two goons, who were doing quite the mess. Ormi was dancing on top of Brother's control panel. _"Who's on top now, Dullwings? It'll be a thousand years before you can take on the mighty Leblanc!"_ Her two goons jumped down from where they had been and laughed.

Paine groaned as she lowered her arms. "She got us." She said dully. Zell was on the verge of throwing a major fit. Squall only looked moody. "Oh, poopie." Yuna muttered. Rikku gasped as she looked at her. "Yuna! Don't talk like that!" She said. Yuna gave her cousin a look. "I'm just copying you!" She said accusingly. Paine snorted. "That's nice. And?" She asked.

Yuna clenched her fists as she glared at the pink sphere. "We're going to take it back! No one messes with us!"

Zell grinned at his friend. "Yeah! That's right! Let's teach Leblanc and her dumb nut boys a lesson for stealing what we rightly found!" He said. Yuna nodded with a very excited Rikku. "Yeah!" They both said cheerfully. "And what about Vegnagun?" Paine had to burst their bubble. Everyone just stared off with questioning looks before Yuna shook her head. "We're forgetting who we are! We're sphere hunters! The Gullwings!" She said proudly. Everyone nodded. Brother was jumping up and down with cheer. "That's right! We steal back what is stolen. It is the law of the Sphere hunters! Now we got Chateau Leblanc! We attack in the name of honor!" He said proudly. Zell had to hand it to Brother. The guy had a guts and a lot of it.

"...get our hineys kicked in the name of honor." Shinra muttered.

Zell immediately laughed before rubbing the boy's head. "We're not going to get our butts kicked, kiddo. We're going to do the butt kicking." He said. Irvine rubbed the back of his neck. "How are we going to get into Leblanc's place anyhow? It's gotta be tight with security. Leblanc is kind of a dumb blonde but she ain't stupid." He said. Yuna nodded with the others. "Maybe we can sneak in disguise." she said thoughtfully. Squall nodded. "Sneak in with Leblanc's people's uniforms. Sounds like a good idea."

Brother again began to jump up and down happily. "That's it! Yuna, you are brilliant!" He earned a look from Squall but the silent commander didn't say anything about it.

"So, we have to fly around till we find Leblanc's gang..." Rikku paused and Paine nodded. "Beat them up and steal their uniforms. Three of them."

Zell folded his arms with a look on his face. "Don't you mean six of them? Do you honestly think we three are going to let you have all the fun?" He asked with a smirk. Yuna and Rikku both giggled and nodded. "Yeah. Six uniforms then. Let's go."

* * *

Al Bhed Translation:

Fryd eh Spira ec dryd machina?-What in Spira is that machina?

U tyr'd mega drec cbrana-I don't like this sphere.

Oui pi xiead!-You be quiet!

Tadyemc, tadyemc. Cruf cusa lmycc, syh-Details, details. Show some class, man.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8 or 10-2 grins evilly Yet.**

**Chapter 9.**

The six friends went to Kilika Port first to see if Leblanc's people were there but they were greeted by an irritated Dona and some of the Youth League followers. The Gullwings and the SeeDs just looked at the brown skinned woman while she placed her slender hand onto her waist. "The Gullwings, was it not? Sphere hunters that give back spheres. Don't you think that's a little odd? Of course, we're glad you're on the Youth League's side but still..." Dona cut herself off.  
Zell folded his arms. "What? You don't like us being a little friendly with the Youth League?" He asked coolly. Dona shook her head looking just as cool but she kept her temper. "We're having a little spat with New Yevon. Just what I needed. No rest for the weary, dear. You may want to keep your distance from the island for a little while." She said. Yuna nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Dona." She turned away to leave but Squall stepped closer. "Is any of Leblanc's people here?" He asked. Dona tilted her head in curiosity but she shook her head. "We haven't seen any of them for days now. Sorry. Are you looking for them?" She asked. Rikku shrugged. "Uh, well sort of. But if they're not here, then we'll skedaddle." She said. Dona nodded and she watched them leave.

The group went to Besaid next to see if any of Leblanc's people were there either and to check up on Wakka and Lulu. As soon as they arrived, they met the Aurochs. The large men all grinned and waved their greetings to the group. "So you gave the sphere to the Youth League, ya?" Datto asked. Zell nodded with the others.

"Ya, we knew you were on our side!" said Jassu.

Yuna tilted her head, looking at them in curiosity, as did the others. "What do you mean?" She asked. The Aurochs all grinned at them. "The Besaid Aurochs have all joined the Youth League." Datto said proudly. Jassu pulled a face though. "Well, officially, at least. And, uh, Wakka, hasn't joined up yet."

Datto nodded. "Can't blame him, ya? His kid's popping out any minute you know. Now's not the time for him to be fussing around with politics." He said. Zell nodded as he folded his arms. "Of course. He's Wakka."

"Fussing, you say?" Someone asked.

Everyone turned around and saw a man in strange armor. He was quite the odd looking character. Zell immediately didn't like him. There was just that thing about him. He could see that Squall was giving the man a look of distrust. He didn't trust him either. "Who are you?" Irvine asked though.

"I am Beclem." The man said walking over. "I've been dispatched to Besaid by Youth League headquarters. I'm here to pound some fight into these pathetic slackers." He said roughly. Zell gritted his teeth anger. He didn't like the way this man was talking about his friends. He felt like stepping forward and pounding this man into the ground. However, Botta placed his hand on Zell's shoulder. The Aurochs all knew what kind of temper their young friend had. "He's a hundred times stricter than Wakka." Jassu muttered. Beclem scowled at the large Blitzball player for that remark. He placed his hands on his waist and practically faced off with Jassu, who immediately backed down. "You must be awfully confident in your strength if you're skipping training just to flap your lips like that. So, I guess you won't mind showing me what you're all really made of, then." He asked standing taller. Zell gritted his teeth tightly but didn't say anything. The Aurochs all looked away, muttering and shaking their heads.

"Is no one among you man enough to break my record? You're pathetic." Beclem challenged.

Zell balled up his fist and started to step forward but Squall and Irvine grabbed his arms, holding him back. "Zell, we don't have time for that." His dark friend said silently. Rikku just folded her arms. "Okay, he's creeping me out." She said. Yuna nodded as she started to walk towards the village with her friends. "Seriously."

The Aurochs all waved as they started away. "See you later, Yuna!" Datto said before bowing the prayer gesture.

"Stop that at once!" Beclem snapped. "The age of the temples and prayers is over. It's about time you let go of those musty old traditions. There's no need to bow down to summoners either." He said with a sneer. Zell immediately spun on his heel, glaring at the man, along with Rikku, bringing only a nod from Beclem. "Yes, summoners are a thing of the past."

"Hold it right there! Whose Calm do you think this is, buster?!" Rikku snapped as she glared icily at the man.

Beclem only folded his arms. "There are no more aeons to summon. Summoners are worthless now."

Zell growled as he began to lift his hand. "How dare you! I should show you what a dark summon could do to someone like you!" He snapped, starting to call for Diablo, who seemed very happy that he was going to be summoned. He felt Squall's hand on his shoulder, making him only glance over at his friend. The Dark Commander may have been stopping him from doing any harm to this man, but he too was glaring hard at him. Yuna stood rooted in her spot, glaring off towards the trees. "You will take those words back."

Beclem snorted. "I will. If you succeed in proving your worth to me. Well, what do you say?"

The Gullwings and the SeeDs all turned around, glaring at the man. "You're on, Beclem." Yuna said coldly. Zell nodded as he balled up his fists, making his knuckles crack. "We'll make you eat your words till you explode, Beclem!" He growled. Beclem smirked right at them. "Good. You can go first. The way you twaddled on before, you had best break my record." He then motioned for Zell to step up to the Gauntlet. Zell smirked right back. "All right." He said walking forward and tightening his fighting gloves. "Let me show you what a SeeD can do, you punk. You'll be sorry."

"Hmph. I do hope so." Beclem said with disbelief.

Zell turned his forward, looking down the long path that was before him. He could see it was crawling with monsters. He stretched his arms, making the bones crack before he stood in a stance as if he was entering a race. "Begin now!" Beclem said. And the martial artist was off.

Zell ran as fast as he could down the path before he jumped up into the air and came down hard on one of the monster's back. He smirked as it burst into pyreflies. "Cake." He muttered before he ran even faster down the path, fighting monster after monster before reaching the beach, within the time limit. It was clear that Beclem wasn't very happy with that performance but he didn't say anything as Rikku took her turn. She ran as fast as Zell had, slicing monsters left and right as she ran. Trails of pyreflies followed behind her as she rushed through Gauntlet. She too, beat the time.  
Next Irvine went through the Gauntlet. He wasn't as fast as Rikku and Zell had been but he killed every single monster with his shotgun, blowing holes into them as he ran. He was only two seconds behind the time limit but still Beclem was looking even more annoyed.  
It was Paine's turn to piss the Youth League member off with her skills. She sliced through monsters as she just ran through them, turning back once to give Beclem a smirk as she sliced through an Iron Giant with ease. She made it. Squall practically blown Beclem away with his speed and skills. He didn't even stop once as he killed monsters. Lastly, it was Yuna's turn. She ran through the Gauntlet, shooting her guns off at the monsters, killing a lot of them. A few she missed but it didn't matter. She, too, beat Beclem's record.

"Take that!" Rikku said cheerfully as they returned to the cheering group of Blitzball players and the annoyed Youth League member. Zell grinned as he folded his arms. "Next time you won't be talking trash about us, now will you?" He said smugly.

Beclem just folded his arms, looking foul. "Hm. Skill you may have, but I find it hard to believe you defeated Sin! You obviously had some help."

Zell almost started throwing fists at this freak but Squall and Irvine held him back while Yuna lift her head up proudly. "I did, from my friends. My pilgrimage was successful because my friends and my aeons supported me along the way. And they still do. Memories of the time we spent together make me strong. I won't stand here and let you call that strength useless." She said with a scowl. Beclem just turned away. "Must your kind always prattle on about your precious memories?" He asked as walked away. Zell was now fighting his two friends to go after Beclem to beat the living snot out of him. "Zell! Stop it or I will knock you out!" Squall warned. Zell stopped fighting but glared even fiercer after the man.

"He's got some nerve!" Rikku said angrily, her arms folded tightly over her chest.

Paine shook her head. "Sore loser." was all she said. Yuna shook her head as she turned away. "Never mind him. Someday he'll see how strong our memories are. He just doesn't understand." She said quietly.

Squall nodded as he continued to hold onto Zell. "...soon, he will."

Then the group went onto the village and spoke with people there only to learn that Leblanc's people never actually went to Besaid at all. Apparently, the blonde bimbo didn't like so much nature like theirs so she never visited. So the Gullwings and the SeeDs had no choice but to leave and continue their search else where.

They decided to go to Guadosalam to see if they could hear any of the other goons say anything about future missions but they were being very hush-hush with the Gullwings and the SeeDs being around. Eventually, Yuna figured that they should ask around the town to see if any of the townspeople had heard anything. Squall came back to the group telling them that he had to pay a man to tell him what he knew. "From the man told me, Leblanc's people have gone to a desert, a snow top mountain and the Mushroom Rock Road." He told everyone. Zell folded his arms and looked away thoughtfully. "Huh. Bikanel Island, Mt. Gagazat, and Mushroom Rock Road." He muttered. He then looked at Yuna, who looked just as thoughtful.

"SO, Yuna, where to?" Rikku asked before he could. Yuna looked around at everyone before nodding. "We'll go to Mt. Gagazet first. I won't let Leblanc run around there and ruin things for Kimarhi." She said. Zell grinned with a nod. "You got that right, Yunie. So let's head up there now." He said. Everyone nodded and went back to the airship.

Upon reaching Mt. Gagazet, the group found Kimarhi standing near a female Ronso, seeming to having a quiet conversation with her. They all walked up to him, eventually catching his attention when Zell kicked a rock. The large Ronso didn't smile but he did look happy to see them. "Hey, Kim." Zell said cheerfully. The Ronso only nodded his greeting before looking at Yuna. "Kimahri sorry." He said shaking his head. Everyone frowned when he apologized to her. What would he be sorry about? He didn't do anything wrong? Now that Zell was paying attention, the large Ronso did look a little tired about something.

"Sorry about what?" Yuna asked folding her arms behind her back.

Kimahri just shook his head as he dropped his arms to his sides. "Kimahri look for sphere for Yuna. But Kimahri find nothing." He paused for a mid second. "Kimahri disappoint Yuna."

Zell frowned as did the others. Though Yuna just looked thoughtfully up at her former Guardian. "It's all right, Kimahri." She said. "Of course I'm happy you tried to help, but Yuna has to deal with Yuna problems." She told him. Zell just smiled as he folded his arms. "Yeah, Kim. Don't feel bad. We'll find the spheres we're looking for." He spoke up. The others nodded. "They're right. Thank you for trying." Squall said quietly. Kimahri only nodded before looking at Yuna again. "Kimahri search mountain long time. But still one place Kimahri not look." He said. Zell looked at Squall and Irvine, who looked back at them.

"Where's that?" The cowboy asked tilting his hat back.

Kimahri just stared at him. "Fayth Scar rises high on Mountain. Scar is sacred ground which Ronso not tread." He told them.

Paine looked at everyone else, while Rikku cupped her hand over her small chin. "Might still be some spheres up there." The black wearing young woman said. Zell nodded. "Yeah. That's a possibility."

Kimahri just shook his head. "Summoners no longer climb mountain. Now only Sphere Hunters come. Kimahri worry hunters defile sacred ground." He said with a small sigh. The Gullwings and the SeeDs looked at one another. They all thought pretty the same thing. It must have been Leblanc and her goons. Rikku decided to ask though. "Do you think it's Leblanc and her goons?" She asked. Yuna looked right back at her young cousin. "Maybe we should check." She then looked back up at Kimahri. "Is that okay?"

The Ronso was quiet for a minute before nodding. "Kimahri trust Yuna. Kimahri not worry." Zell grinned up at his old friend. "Don't worry, Kim. We'll be careful." He said starting towards the mountain path. Everyone just nodded while Kimahri watched them go.

The three Gullwings and three SeeDs walked up the icy path, trying to be careful not to slip. Only a few times they had. But luckily, for them, it wasn't that slippery. They eventually made it to where Kimahri had told them to go. The cliffs they were at were extremely high and death defying. Zell couldn't help but whistle at the sight. He placed his fist onto his waist as he tilted his head back to see if he could see the top of the cliffs. "Well, now we know why the Ronso never come up this way." He muttered. Rikku whined as she looked up the cliffs. "Uh! You mean we're suppose to climb this?!" She gasped.

Paine nodded as she folded her arms and looked straight upward. "No wonder the Ronso never come here." She said as she tilted her head back. Squall only frowned as he looked around before shaking his head. "Only a fool would come up this way."

"Look!" Yuna suddenly said and pointed.

Everyone looked up onto one of the high ledges only to see a Leblanc Syndicate member climbing up the cliff, seeming to not even notice that she was being watched. She was having a rough time as it was.

"Well, I guess that chicka is a fool then." Irvine said grinning at his friend.

Squall only glanced at him before looking away. "Are we going?" He asked quietly. Yuna was quiet for a few seconds before nodding. "Let's go up there. If they can climb these cliffs, then so can we." She said. Rikku just nodded with Zell while the others looked very unsure. But they started to climb nonetheless. It took almost two hours to get to the top but they managed to do it. Of course Irvine was grumbling how the members of the Syndicate was probably gone by now. He shut up after a while when Zell gave him a very dark look. It was because Yuna was starting to look a little put down. But she said nothing as she climbed.

Finally, they made it to the top. The three SeeDs helped the girls up to safety, though Paine quietly protested. She didn't want anyone to touch her but she still let them pull her to the top. It was probably because she almost slipped as it was. Squall had caught her hand before she could fall back and kept a hold of her until she had a better footing. But as soon as everyone was up, they began walking again and looking around to see if they could find the Syndicates.

"Man, where did they go?" Irvine asked as he looked around while they walked.

Squall just folded his arms, looking a little moody. That had been the third time the cowboy had asked that. Paine seemed to be impatient like he was but she kept to herself. Yuna and Rikku just softly laughed as Zell glared at his taller friend. "For the last time, Irve. We don't know. That's why we're **looking** for them!" The blonde growled. "And if you ask that one more time, I'm going to shove you off the cliff."

"Zell." Yuna said a little seriously.

Zell only shrugged as he shut his mouth. Squall finally stopped as he looked around. "Maybe we should split up and look around. It would give us more ground to cover." He said. Zell nodded in agreement. "That's probably a good idea, Squall." He looked at Yuna to see what she thought. She just nodded. "All right. How should we split up?" She asked. Zell rubbed the back of his neck before looking at Squall. "Well, why don't Squall go with you and Paine while Rikku comes with me and Irvine. That way, you guys can get to know each other a little more." He said. Yuna just shrugged as she looked at Paine then at Squall. The dark Commander just folded his arms. "I have no problem with that plan. It'd probably be better than what Irvine would come up with."

"Hey!" came the protest from the cowboy. Yuna and Rikku both laughed while Paine just looked away. "I don't mind." She said just as quietly as he did.

"Okay. So that settles it. We'll go that a way while you guys go that a way." Zell said pointing in two different directions. Both Yuna and Rikku tilted their heads but Squall face palmed. "He means we'll climb those small cliffs there while he, Rikku and Irvine climbs down those ones." He said nodding to steep hill side up ahead.

"Oh, thanks, Zell." Yuna said rolling her eyes but still smiling.

Zell just shrugged. "Well, if you guys want to roll down the cliffs instead, then go ahead. I don't mind." He said in a joking way. Paine just shook her head as she already made her way towards the cliff side. "I think I'll pass." was all she said. Squall nodded as he followed after her with Yuna not far after. The other three watched them go before they looked at one another. "Okay. So which way are we going again?" Irvine asked as he shouldered his shotgun. Zell rolled his eyes before pointing towards a path that shifted downward. "Let's try that path." He said. Rikku nodded as she jumped up and down with cheer. "All righty then! Come on!" She said cheerfully before hurrying towards the path. The SeeDs both nodded and hurried after her.

They traveled a short distance when they heard voices coming from ahead. They looked around before hurrying towards a bend of boulders where they heard the voices and to their luck, they found two Leblanc Syndicate members. Unfortunately, they were sitting in a hot spring wearing only their underwear.

Zell's face flushed while Irvine grinned. "Hey, hey." He said as he moved to get a better look.

Rikku broke out into a fit of giggles while Zell rolled his eyes. "Irve, if you don't look away now, I swear I'll tell Selphie about this." He warned his friend. The cowboy immediately backed away in defeat, his head lowered. "Aw, man. Come on, Zell. You're no fun. It's not like you haven't done anything like this before."

Zell's face flushed red but he glared at his friend. "Irvine! Don't you dare." He growled at him. Rikku looked dully at her boyfriend though. "Oh really? Irvine, I think it's time you and I had a talk." She said as she grabbed the cowboy's sleeve and started to pull him to the side. Zell just groaned. But before he could protest there was a sudden sound of a rock being kicked across the ground and all three of them turned around to see who it was. To their luck, it was the goon, Ormi. He was making his way down the rocky path.

"Uh-oh. Come on, guys. Let's hide." Zell said. Irvine just looked at him with confusion but moved to hide behind a boulder with Zell and Rikku. "Why are we hidin', Zell? Shouldn't we just jump him and those two to get those uniforms?"

Zell shook his head. "Yeah but I just want to hear what he might say. Besides it's not really polite to jump a few girls who are trying to enjoy their selves in a hot spring. They're practically naked, you dope." He said. Rikku nodded in agreement. "He's got a point." She said as she crouched behind the rock. Irvine just shrugged but silently agreed with them. So they waited. Ormi didn't seem to even notice that the girls were in the hot spring still. He was too busy looking at something in his hand. The girls didn't notice them either. But still, Zell and Irvine both looked away while Rikku watched them. The girls might have been enemies but the two SeeDs were going to be respectful to them.

"Can you believe there's a hot spring up here? It's like the Ronso's private getaway." One of the girls asked the other.

The other girl shook her head as she cupped a handful of water and splashed her face with it. "Think it's okay, ditching work like this? We need to find that thing pretty soon." She told her friend. The other girl groaned with impatience. "Talk about it all you like. I don't see how we're getting up that cliff."

"Leblanc's not going to like this." The second girl protested.

The other didn't argue. She just leaned her head back before looking back at her partner. "Hey, not that it matters, but just how old is she?" She asked with amusement. The second just laughed softly as she stood up with the other and made their way to their uniforms. Of course, Zell and Irvine weren't looking. They were busy watching Ormi as the large man walked back up the path to look for the source of a rock falling from above. Zell had looked up and saw Squall, Yuna and Paine climbing onto a high ledge way above them. They didn't even seem to notice the members in the hot spring. They were still looking around as if trying to find where the Syndicates went.

"I don't know. I can't tell if she's spiced or seasoned." The two SeeDs heard the second member say. The other just laughed. The SeeDs finally looked to see them completely dressed in their uniforms. , which was a big relief.

"Ah." The first sighed happily. " That water felt great. I can't still believe that there's a hot spring up here. Not in a place like this."

The other looked nervous though. "But isn't this supposed to be Ronso Sacred Ground? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." She said as she put her helmet onto her head. The other just placed her hand on her waist impatiently. "What, you think some Ronso boogie man is going to come get you? Better than that then boss, you know what I mean." She muttered. That was then Ormi turned and walked over to them.

"Hey! You two have been slacking off!" He growled at them.

The two girls faced him, giving him sharp salutes. "Uh...no, sir! We were just getting ready for duty! Just trying to rejuvenate, sir!" The nervous one said. Ormi just looked impatient and opened his large mouth to say something even further. The hidden three knew that he was about to give the two girls a nasty lecture and they were about to hear it.

Suddenly there was a loud crack from high above and something very big came falling from the high cliffs, landing in the deeper part of the Hot springs. Water flew everywhere, even splashing onto the three hidden fighters and the three Leblanc Syndicate members. Even though they got wet, the members screamed in fear and took off running as if something un-natural was chasing them. Even Zell, Rikku and Irvine was a little creeped out. The three of them cringed a little trying to shake off the warm water while looking towards spring.

That was when the other three of the group emerged from the water, soaking wet from the water. All three of them were gasping for air as they stood up. Zell, Irvine and Rikku couldn't help but laugh as they watched their friends looked around, Squall looking very moody because he was soaking wet. Paine looked just as moody but not as much as Squall was. Yuna was laughing softly as she shook her head to get the water out of her hair. "Well, that was fun." She said as she brushed the water from her arms.

"Good to have you drop in on us like that, guys." Zell said as he stepped out from their hiding spot. Rikku and Irvine followed him, both laughing.

Yuna, Squall and Paine looked alerted but then relaxed when they saw it was just them. The cheerful High Summoner just laughed and waved at them as she walked towards them to a more shallow area. "Hey, was that Leblanc's gang?" Yuna asked as she looked up the path. Rikku nodded as she jumped up and down with cheer. "Yeah! And look at what they left for us!" She said pointing to a flat rock. Everyone looked to see a uniform sitting there. Yuna smiled brightly before throwing a fist into the air. "Great! One uniform for the Gullwings!" She said happily. Paine looked around at the water they were still in. "Funny. I didn't know there was hot spring up here."

The others looked at the steaming water with interest. Rikku walked into the water until it was up to her knees. "Neither did I! This feels pretty good, actually." She said. Zell nodded as he joined her to stepping into the water. Yuna suddenly got a very sly smile on her face. "Hey." She said making everyone look at her. "As long as we're here."

Rikku frowned as she looked at her. Zell and Irvine was smiling at what Yuna was talking about. Squall just folded his arms as he looked around the warm water. "On Ronso Sacred Ground?" The blonde Al Bhed asked with worry.

Paine just smirked at the other girl as she tilted her head. "No one's looking." She said just as sly as Yuna had. Zell grinned with a nod. "Yeah. Come on. We could use a break before we headed back to the ship. Besides, I've never been in a hot spring before." He said. The girls were already in the water, starting to splash one another while laughing. It was actually the very first time the three SeeDs seen Paine laugh or really smile. They all thought she looked nice with a smile. "Okay. Let's take a break." Yuna said. Squall just stepped out of the water, putting his gunblade on dry ground and then pulled off his soaking wet jacket. "Well, it would give our cloths time to dry again. But we'll be separated so you can have your privacy. Zell, Irvine and I will be on the other side of those rocks there." He said nodding towards the other side of the spring. The girls only nodded while Irvine groaned in disappointment.

Not long after, all six of them were sitting in the hot spring, each three away from one another for their own privacy. The three SeeDs were sitting in the water in their boxer shorts, which Zell was surprised that Irvine was even wearing any. The cowboy always claimed that he didn't wear anything. And that had worried the other two when they undressed. Zell, however, was stealing glances towards Rikku as she sat in the hot spring in her underclothes.

That is until Irvine splashed him the face. "Hey. If I can't look, neither can you, bud." The cowboy told him. Zell scowled at him but then closed his eyes as he leaned against the warm rocks behind him. Squall was also relaxing in the warm water, his own eyes were closed as he let the waterfall's warm spray fall onto his face. The three SeeDs could hear the girls talking and laughing as they splashed one another.

"Hey, Zell. That girl, Paine," Irvine said as he waded over to his two friends, still in the deeper end. "You haven't met her before, haven't ya?"

Zell opened his eyes again and looked at the cowboy. "No. Why do you think I've met her?"

The cowboy just shrugged as he did a few backstrokes, his face tilted towards the sky. "I dunno. I kinda figured that since you've been here before. I'd think that you knew everyone." he said. Squall now opened his eyes. "Irvine, just because Zell's been in Spira before, doesn't mean that he knows everyone. He probably met a lot of people two years ago but there's a lot of people in this world. Like in any other world."

"Well, I was just saying." Irvine complained before he looked towards the COM links sitting next to their cloths. A transmission had come through from Brother. He was asking what their status was and Yuna answered. "Just taking a dip." She said as she stepped away from a soaking wet Rikku, who she and Paine had just been teasing a minute ago.

Brother said something in Al Bhed before replying, _"Code, uh, Pink! I''ll be there right now!" _He said happily. Zell just shook his head as he groaned with annoyance. That is until they all heard a crash and Brother yelping in pain.

"Brother?" Yuna asked from the other side of the rocks, sounding a little worried.

There was a pause before they heard Buddy answer. _"Don't worry. I knocked him out. Take your time." _He paused. _"And, uh, I won't tell him if your with the SeeDs."_ The transmission ended.

The three girls just laughed while the SeeDs either smirked or chuckled. "I'm getting all pruney anyway. I think it's time to get out." Rikku said as she started out of the water. Yuna and Paine nodded as they joined the Al Bhed girl. "Guys! What about you?! Are you getting out?" The former Summoner called to the SeeDs. Zell, Squall and Irvine were already climbing out of the water and making their way towards their cloths. "We're out. Give us a few minutes." The blonde SeeD called back to them.

And like he said, a few minutes later, all six of them were making their way up the path, laughing or smiling. Paine seemed to be in a lighter mood since their break. They were halfway up the path when two members of the Syndicate jumped down from above. "Hey! We'll be taking that uniform back!" One snapped as they approached the six. The other nodded, looking just as angrily. "If we lose it, Leblanc will give us the heel!"

The six looked at one another before the SeeDs stepped back. "They're all yours, girls." Irvine said shouldering his shotgun. Zell nodded as he folded his arms while Squall leaned against the rocky wall.

"Hey! Why aren't you going to help?" Rikku asked as she pulled out her hand blades.

Zell shook his head as he shifted his weight. "Sorry, Rikku. It's just we don't really like beating up on girls. It's just not right, you know what I mean. Not for us anyway. You know what I mean, right?" He said. Yuna nodded as she and her two friends faced the two annoyed looking Syndicates. "We understand. We'll take care of them."

That was when Ormi showed up, himself. "Lousy Gullwings! Falling down on people like that. Gave a little surprise, that's all!" He said angrily. Zell, Squall and Irvine looked at one another before nodding and started towards him.

"Yeah, right." The cowboy snorted as he faced the large man.

"For a little surprise, you sure took while coming back." Paine said with amusement as she faced the two Syndicate girls.

"Who asked you?!" Ormi just growled at her before starting to step forward to help the two Syndicates. The SeeDs stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Yunie, Rik, Paine, we'll take care of fatso over here while you're taking those two." Zell said as he snapped into his fighting position. Squall sliced the air with his gunblade while Irvine trained his shotgun towards the big man with the big shield.

"Who're you calling fatso?!" Ormi shouted angrily. "I just have big bones!" He then charged forward to fight the three SeeDs swinging his large shield.

Zell quickly jumped around the man while Squall swung his gunblade slicing the hard surface. It didn't go through but it did leave a nice long scratch. Irvine had done what Zell did and jumped to the side, firing a few rounds at the large man. A few specks of gun powder hit him pretty had sending him flying onto his butt. The battle didn't last too long. After getting shot by Irvine, Ormi quickly stood up and raced off. The two Syndicates, who were already beaten by the girls, raced after him, wearing no clothes but their underclothes. Irvine whistled though as he tilted his head. "Wow. That blonde one has a cute butt." He said thoughtfully.

Everyone else just rolled their eyes as they turned away from him. They then heard a transmission from Brother again. He sounded much sore than before. Probably after getting clobbered by Buddy. _"This is Brother. How is everything?" _

Yuna smiled as she and Rikku jumped up and down with joy. "Mission accomplished! We found ourselves a uniform!" She said merrily. Zell nodded as he placed his fists on his waists. "Yeah. Make that three uniforms though for the girls. Now we just have to find three for us." He said. Yuna nodded in agreement.

Brother didn't sound to enthusiastic when he spoke up though. _"Roger. We're on our way." _

The six just looked at one another before smiling at one another. "Time for phase two of our plan. Find three more uniforms for you guys." Rikku said merrily. Zell only nodded with Squall and Irvine. Then all six of them climbed to a cliff side where the airship could see them and pick them up.

Once they were on the airship again, the three girls had tried on the uniforms and were walking around, trying to get used to wearing them. The guys all just watched them as they walked around. Zell was grinning though as he watched Rikku. "I'll tell you what, Rikku, you make that uniform look good." he said folding his arms. "You don't look bad either, Yuna. You too, Paine. Though I don't think hot pink is your color. Squall and Paine rolled their eyes as did Brother but Rikku and Yuna laughed. "Thanks, Zell." The former High Summoner said as she looked herself over. Rikku just wrapped her arms around Zell's waist and stood next to him.

Yuna looked at Buddy next. "So where to next?"

Buddy went over to his chair and looked at his control panel. "Well, we still have the Mushroom Rock Road and Bikanel Island to go to. You choose, Yuna." He said. Yuna tilted her head to the side before nodding. "Bikanel Island. It's been a long time since were there. Plus it's closer, right?" She asked. Brother went over and jumped into the pilot's chair. "Bikanel Island! Here we come!" The others just stood around or talked with one another until they would arrive. Zell and Rikku went back to watching some of the spheres that they had collected so far.

It didn't take very long to getting to the desert island. But it did take a while to finding the camp. Brother had dropped them off in the middle of nowhere and they were forced to just walk around in the hot sand until they nearly passed out. To their luck, a hover had been passing by and gave them a ride.

Zell and his three friends couldn't help but look around as they entered the camp. Rikku had ran ahead to talk to someone called the forewoman. And apparently it was the woman called Nhadala. The Al Bhed woman looked very impatient that they were there but Yuna presented her Gippal's letter, she seemed a little lighter mood. But still, she was agitated.

"Well, I would send you out to start digging right now but I'm afraid we're having a few problems." Nhadala said shaking her head.

"Huh?" Zell muttered. "What's up?"

The Al Bhed woman shook her head before rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Well, some strange stuff's been washing up at the Oasis lately and I'd appreciate it if you checked out first for me. That can be your first job." She said. The six all nodded. "Okay. We're on the case." Yuna said before looking around. "Where is it?"

Nhadala just shrugged before pointing at the hover driver. "Just talk to that man. He'll take you straight there and bring you back." She told them. Yuna nodded before she led her friends over to hovers.

It took only a half an hour to get to the Oasis. It was the same place that Tidus had turned up, from what Zell learned from him a long time ago. He had remembered his old friend said that Sin had dropped him off there before leaving him and the others to find the Al Bhed's Home for their selves. It was a nice little place. There were interest plants that the SeeDs had never seen before. The water looked actually pretty cool for being in such a hot desert. And when Zell stuck his hand into it, he found that it was. He didn't understand how the water was so cool but Rikku insisted that there was a underground river pushing up into the lake or something.

When the Gullwings and the SeeDs took a look around, they found a sphere. Rikku pointed at it as Yuna walked over to it. "Look, a sphere."

"In a place like this, how original." Squall said rolling his eyes. No one listened to him though. Yuna just bent down and picked it up. Zell just folded his arms as he tilted his head. "Let's bag it. No one else is going to come for it." He said. Yuna nodded as she slide the sphere into her waist pouch. "It wouldn't hurt." She said. They all started to turn to leave.

"Well, fancy meeting you here." A very annoying but familiar voice spoke up.

All six jerked around and found two Syndicate members and the man called Logos standing on a small boulder. The tall gunman just shook his head. "You can lead a Gullwing to water, but you can't make it drink." He said. Zell and Irvine both looked at one another dully. Squall just rolled his eyes as he pulled out his Gunblade. "You are a bigger moron than my own father." He muttered.

"Umm?" Rikku said clueless.

Paine then smirked as she slide her sword out from it's place. "Say, those are nice uniforms."

Zell snapped to his fighting stance while smirking. "You got that right, Paine. I say we 'borrow' them from these guys. What do you say, Squall?" He asked looking at the Gunblader. The dark Commander only nodded.

Logos looked confused of what they were talking about but he shook his thoughts out and folded his arms. "Enough of this nonsense!" He snapped before he and the two Syndicates jumped down to fight the six. Zell, Yuna and Squall hurried forward to fight them. The other three just stood back to watch and wait as backup. Zell took on one of the Syndicates as did Yuna while Squall was taking on Logos. It was an easy match actually. Logos was a little tougher than Ormi but wasn't that strong. Not after Squall was done with him. He had thrown a nasty thunder spell on him, causing him to decide to retreat. The two Syndicates didn't even stand a chance against Zell and Yuna. They were knocked out very quickly and relieved of their uniforms.

"Hey!" Rikku complained. "You guys get all the fun!"

Zell just laughed while shaking his head. "Don't worry, Rikku. You didn't miss much. They were an easy win." He said. The others just nodded. "Well, let's get out of here. This place is just too hot for comfort." Irvine said wiping his brow. The others just nodded before they went back to the Hover driver. They didn't stay to dig though. They promised that they would return as soon as they could. Nhadala didn't seem to fret too much. She told them there was already too many people digging at the moment anyway. So the three Gullwings and the three SeeDs were off.

When they were back on the ship, the girls and the three SeeDs tried on their uniforms and walked around in them. Zell grumbled as he walked around in his uniform. He kept complaining that it stunk and it was itchy.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8 or 10-2 grins evilly Yet.**

**Chapter 10.**

The uniforms they stole from the Leblanc Syndicates were a little tight on Zell and Squall but at least they were the right height for them. Irvine, unfortunately, was just too tall for them. They still had only one more uniform to go for. Hopefully they could find one his size. So their next destination was the Mushroom Rock Road.  
Unfortunately, once again, Brother dropped them off in the wrong spot. He had dropped them off on the Mihen Highroad instead. Of course, the SeeDs were extremely annoyed with the tattooed leader of the Gullwings. Zell knew that Brother was doing it on purpose, probably because of him. But no one complained as they began to make their way up the road, heading straight for the Travel Agency.

When they arrived, Zell remembered the very first time he had been there. It made him smile a little because it had been the very time he actually had a conversation with Auron, the legendary Guardian and swordsman of Spira. "Wow. This roads changed a bit." The blonde martial artist said as they walked down the road. He was noticing all the machina wandering around and he did not see any chocobos. He remembered that there had been quite a few the last time he was on that road. Yuna just looked at him as she walked beside Rikku and Paine. "It has been two years, Zell. Change can happen pretty fast."

"Yeah. But look at it this way. At least the roads more safer." Rikku said smiling. "The machina, here, are always taking care of the fiends that wander this road and protect the people who walk it."

Zell only shrugged as they approached the Travel Agency. "I know. It's just, I've missed too much while being gone." He said with a sigh. Yuna just smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, Zell. You didn't miss that much." She said. Rikku only nodded in agreement. Squall, Irvine and Paine chose not to say anything as they walked.

When they reached the agency, they decided to stop for a quick rest up and buy some items they may have needed. All six went into the agency to make their purchases but had to wait because the items shopkeeper was talking to a young teenager, who looked very disappointed. Zell couldn't help but wonder, where had he seen this girl before. He knew he had seen her once. It must have been two years ago though.

"I'm sorry, miss. But you won't be able to go chocobo riding." The shopkeeper said shaking her head.

The girl sighed as she lowered her head. Her shoulders slouched low as she turned away. "I see. Sorry for bothering you." She muttered before leaving the building. Zell just stared after her, still pondering over the thought of that girl. Squall seemed to notice because he moved over and nudged the martial artist's arm. "Zell what is it?" He asked. Everyone now looked at him. Zell just shook his head as he rubbed his chin. "I don't know, Squall. It's just that girl...she seemed oddly familiar. And now it's bothering me."

Yuna tilted her head as she folded her arms behind her hand. "Why don't you go ask her who she is then?"

Zell just shrugged. "I might. But let's get our stuff first." He said. Everyone nodded in agreement before approaching the desk.

Once they had all their stuff, they left the building to look for the girl. It was Irvine who spotted her first. He pointed towards the cliffside where she was standing. It was the same place where Yuna and Tidus had talked to one another two years ago when they visited that place. "Come on. Let's go talk to her." Rikku said now jogging over. The others just followed after.

The girl had turned around when she heard them approached her. She looked very interested in what they wanted but her eyes widened when she recognized Yuna. "You wouldn't be Lady Yuna by any chance?" She asked with a smile.

Yuna nodded as she folded her hands together. "I am."

"Do you remember who I am?" The girl asked hopefully.

The former Summoner shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't remember you. That's why we came over to talk to you. We were wondering who you are." She said gently. The girl didn't seem disappointed at all. She just looked more cheerful as ever. "It's me! Calli!" She said happily.

Like Yuna's, Zell's eyes widened with recognition. He now remembered who this girl was and it made his face brighten. Yuna stepped back with a gasp. "Calli?!" She said with surprise. The girl nodded brightly. Zell just shook his head. "Wow, you've grown, Calli! It's been too long!" He was sure that Rikku gave him a confused look but he just kept smiling at the young teen before him. Calli looked at him for a long minute before her eyes grew very bright. Even brighter than they had when she looked at Yuna. "Sir Zell?! Is that you?!" She asked excitedly. Zell laughed softly before nodding. "Yep, it's me. It's nice to see you again, Calli." He told her. Calli just kept on smiling at him. "Wow! You've changed quite a bit yourself!" She said. Zell just shrugged as he glanced at Irvine, who was smirking. "What are you smirking about, Irve?" He asked seriously.

The cowboy just shook his head before glancing between Zell and Calli. "Oh, nothing, Zell. It just got a little more interesting that's all. How ya know this girl?"

Yuna shook her head as she came to Zell's defense. She seemed to have guessed what the cowboy was thinking. "He was with me when we first met Calli. She was only a little girl then." She told Irvine, who immediately shut up. "What are you doing here?"

Calli shook her head as she folded her arms around herself. "I've been doing a little traveling myself. I came here, hoping that I could ride a Chocobo. But problem is there's no more chocobos here. They've all gone because of all the hovercrafts." She said with a sigh. Zell looked around with confusion. "Huh, I was wondering where they all were. Where'd they go?" He asked. Calli just shook her head with an even deeper sigh. "I don't know. No one's seen a single Chocobo since the Calm started, two years ago. No one's ever seen a single one." She said sadly. Yuna shook her head. "That's so sad. I really liked those creatures. I wonder where they went." She said thoughtfully.

It was at that very second, they heard a strange warking sound. Everyone but Paine and Squall turned to see what it was. Zell's eyes lit up brightly as he saw it. It was so weird. They had just been talking about how the Chocobos had not been seen for such a long time and suddenly one shows up.

"Cho...!" Yuna gasped pointing.

"Cho...!" Rikku cut herself off.

Both Paine and Squall looked at them with confusion. "Cho?" They both asked.

Zell pointed with Calli and Irvine. "It's a Chocobo!" All three of them said making the two teens in black turn around and look to see what they were talking about. The chocobo seemed to have guessed that it was what they were talking about because it bolted. "Aw, sweet! Let's nab it!" Zell said already running after the large yellow bird. Yuna nodded as she and Rikku were already following after him. "Yeah! For Calli!" They both said.

Squall, Paine and Irvine just glanced at one another before running after their three friends, while Calli was cheering them on. The six teens quickly ran down the path, following a trail of yellow feathers as they went. They could barely see where the chocobo was because it was so fast. Rikku eventually pointed in the wrong direction thinking she might have seen it but the others kept following the trail of feathers. They were practically out of breath by the time the caught up with the Chocobo. It was just pecking at the ground for any seeds. Not even seeming to notice the six approaching. They stopped moving a few feet away before looking at one another.

"All right. We need a plan to catching this thing. What do you think, Irve? You're the Chocobo expert out of us." Zell said as he bent over to catch his breath.

The tall cowboy just looked at the chocobo before nodding. "Well, it's obvious that it might just try to run away from us again. We gotta trap it somehow. Two of us needs to be on this side of the road while two of us needs to be on the other side. And two of us can try to catch the thing. That's our best bet on catching it." He told everyone. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Okay! Rikku and I'll get the far end of the road." Zell said. Squall and Paine just glanced at one another. "All right. Then we'll be on this end of the road."

"So that leaves me and Yuna to try and catch the chocobo." Irvine said as he tilted his hat back.

Yuna just nodded as she looked at Zell and Rikku, who were already making their way down the road. They all waited for a minute until everyone was in position before Yuna and Irvine ran down the road towards the Chocobo. When they approached it, it bolted straight towards Zell and Rikku, who began jumping up and down to scare it back the other way. It stopped quickly before turning to face Yuna and Irvine who was right behind it. The chocobo made a threatening wark as the two approached it.

"Easy, boy." Irvine said, holding out his hand carefully towards the large bird. "Take it easy." he whispered softly. The bird seemed a little more calmer with him talking like that but just as Irvine was only three inches away, it threw its head forward and hitting his hand before running right around them. The cowboy hissed painfully before sucking on the finger it had bit.

"Irvine! Are you okay?!" Yuna asked quickly.

Zell was laughing though. His arms wrapped around his waist as he doubled over with laughter. "Oh, that was smooth, Irve." He said. Irvine shook his head before turning and was already running after the chocobo. Yuna hesitated before quickly following him. Rikku just looked at Zell, while he was still laughing. "Zell, that wasn't funny. It could have hurt him." She said. The other blonde just shook his head. "No, it was all right, Rikku. Irvine's actually used to getting bit by chocobos. He gets bit every time he tries to tame a wild one. The chocobos that bite you when your trying to catch it shows you that it's a fighter and it won't give in easily." He then shrugged before he looked to see the chocobo was coming back. This time Irvine had been knocked to the ground. But the cowboy was up on his feet chasing after the large bird, not even bothering to pick up his hat when it had fell of his head. Yuna was already protesting against trying to catch the Chocobo. But Irvine kept going.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Rikku whimpered as the chocobo came running towards her and Zell. Zell was already throwing his arms high above his head, making the chocobo halting again. "Ah don't be afraid of it, Rikku. It's okay." He told her. "Irve and I have done this so many times. These chocobos can't be any different from the ones on Gaia. We'll have this thing in no time."

"Ooooh. I hope you're right." Rikku said nervously as the Chocobo resumed to running towards them. And to their disappointment, the large bird jumped clean over their heads. Zell was cursing as he and Rikku watched it run off. Irvine and Yuna joined them, breathing heavily and was soon joined by Squall and Paine, the dark Commander holding Irvine's hat.

"This wasn't a good idea. That thing is too fast and mean." Paine said shaking her head as they watched the chocobo run off. Irvine shook his head as he took his hat from Squall and put it back onto his head. "Nah. It's just like any other Chocobo I've chased after. It's no different." He said. "We'll have that chocobo within an hour or so."

"But," Yuna said as she looked at his slightly bleeding hand. "It bit you. Are you sure you're okay?"

Irvine shook his head as he quickly cast a cure spell onto himself. The wounds in his hand vanished quickly. "I'm fine. I always get bit by chocobos. It's apart of being a Chocobo breeder. They always bite ya at first."

"In that case, I don't think I want to chase it anymore." Paine muttered shaking her head. Irvine shrugged. "If ya wanna sit around and watch us have all the fun, be my guest. But just trust me. When we get that Chocobo, you'll be surprised on how I can handle 'em. But you'll miss out on the fun." He told her. Paine raised her eyebrow at him but Squall shook his head. "Just trust him. He knows what he's talking about. If there was anyone that knew more about chocobos, it would be Irvine. He's been doing this kind of stuff for many years now." He told her. Yuna nodded as they were already hurrying down the path. "Okay. But if you get hurt again, we're stopping." She told Irvine.

The cowboy shrugged. "All right. Whatever you say. But I can guarantee you that it won't bite me again." He said grinning as they raced down the path together.

Rikku just scratched the back of her head as they ran. "You sure seem confident in that." She said. Zell shook his head as he grinned at his girlfriend. "Yeah, of course he's confident. He's a skilled chocobo rider and breeder. Just trust what he says when it comes to chocobos, ladies. He knows his own business." He told her.

The six had a hard time trying to locate the Chocobo after they lost sight of it. Rikku had to climb up onto the high ruins to see if she could spot it. Zell had to help her down when she did see it. They were off again after it. At one time, she climbed at very high area and spotted it almost fifty yards away. "Over there!" She called to the others. Everyone nodded and rushed after the chocobo while Zell stayed behind to help her down. She protested though this time. "Just go, Zell! I'll catch up! Help them get that Chocobo." She said as she climbing down the ruins.

"You sure?" Zell asked as he quickly looked after his friends.

Rikku only nodded. "I'm a fast runner, you know that! Just go, Zell!" She told him. Zell only shrugged before running after the other four. He stopped several feet away when he heard a crash and Rikku yelped with surprise. He spun around to see her running after him while rubbing her behind. "Ouch." She muttered.

"Are you okay?" Zell asked worriedly.

Rikku just nodded as she ran with him after the others. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just tried to jump from where I was and ended up landing on my butt." She said. Zell laughed before they picked up their speed.

The two blondes caught up with the others pretty quickly. Irvine was slowly approaching the Chocobo again, his hands outstretched towards the bird. "Come on, boy. It's all right. We're not going to hurt ya." He said soothingly. The chocobo's head was bent down and it seemed to be panting and whimpering at the same time. It was tired of running, all of them could see that.

"Irvine, are you sure you want to be getting close to that again?" Yuna asked worriedly.

The cowboy didn't look at her as he kept his eyes onto the chocobo, making a few soft warking noises himself. He paused for a second to answer. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. It would've been a lot easier if we had some Greens but since we don't we'll just have to do it this way."

"Greens?" Rikku asked clueless.

Zell just nodded as he wrapped his arm around her waist and watched his friend slowly approach the large yellow bird. "Yeah, Greens. Greens are certain kinds of seeds that Chocobos eat. Like Mimett Greens or Pasana Greens. They kinda help chocobos calm down." He told her. Rikku then groaned loudly as she slouched over. "Oh! Why didn't you say so then?! I've got a bunch of Gysahl Greens!" She said as she dug into her waist pouch and pulled out a few brownish green seeds. Irvine shouldn't have took his eyes off of the Chocobo when he did but he did and the chocobo taught him a lesson for it. It warked loudly before rushing right past him, whacking him with its wing. The cowboy hit the ground, rubbing his head while the others had to scatter to avoid getting ran over by the chocobo.

"Ow." Irvine muttered before climbing to his feet. "I hate it when they do that."

Rikku winched as she curled his fingers around the seeds and dropped her hand. "Sorry, Irvine. That was my fault." She said. Irvine shook his head as he fixed his hat. "Nah, don't even worry about it. He was gonna do it anyway. He tensed up when I got too close." He told her.

Paine shook her head as they looked down the path to see the Chocobo now watching them. "This isn't going to work. We have to think of something else." She said sighing in despair. Zell then pointed off. "We can always try that."

Everyone looked to see a hovercraft and its driver sitting off to the side of the road. Apparently, the driver had been watching the entire time because she was laughing hard. Irvine then grinned. "Hey. That's not a bad idea." He said already walking over. The other five just followed after him. The driver hopped off her hover and walked over to meet them. "Well that was the most amusing show I've ever seen. You need any help trying to catch that Chocobo?" She asked. All six nodded and she smiled. "Okay. Count me in. It's been too long since I've last chased a chocobo." She said. And Irvine told everyone the plan he had just thought up.

Everyone was in position now. Zell and Rikku would walk up to behind the chocobo and scare it out of where it was hiding while the others would try and block it's path. Irvine was going to ride the hover craft with the driver, a very long strand of rope in his hands. He had already made a loop through it. "All right! Everyone, ready?" He called.

There was a few shouts of yeses before they got started on doing the plan. Zell and Rikku ran up and around to the chocobo, scaring it immediately. It bolted of course but halted when it found Squall and Paine blocking it's path. It jerked around and ran towards the other way but found Yuna there. Again, like it did to Rikku and Zell it jumped over her head and ran off. But it was soon pursued by Irvine and the hovercraft. The craft sped after the chocobo, going right ahead of it. As Irvine had thought, the chocobo tried to turn and run off into the field where the hovercraft couldn't follow. But he was ready for that. He swung the rope high above his head in several circles before releasing it. The loop flew right over the Chocobo's head and around it's neck. It came to a sudden halt as Irvine held tight to the rope, keeping it from going anywhere.

The chocobo fought a little, trying to get its head free from the rope but Irvine kept a hold of it, keeping it from running off. As he kept hold, he slowly made his way up the rope to get closer. "Now, you stop that, big guy. Quit makin' such a fuss. We caught ya fair and square. Now cool your hide." he said gently as he carefully reached forward at the thrashing head and gently touched its beak. The chocobo gave a jerk in protest but relaxed as Irvine began rubbing its feathers on its forehead. "That's right, big boy. Calm down." The cowboy said soothingly.

The others just watched in wonder as the cowboy began to whisper sweet words to the large animal. "Wow! He's really good." The driver commented as she just sat in her seat. Zell grinned as he folded his arms. "He's Irvine Kinneas, for you. The Desperado who can charm anything."

The chocobo was finally calmed down and was letting Irvine run his fingers along the glossy yellow feathers. "That's it. You're a good boy." Irvine said as he approached the Chocobo's side. He grabbed a hold of the back feathers and pulled himself up onto the chocobo's back. It had tensed for a second, warking in protest but didn't fight. It finally gave in. Irvine nodded in satisfaction. "There ya have it. We have caught ourselves a chocobo." He said grinning at the others. The three Gullwings and the two SeeDs cheered for Irvine as he tied the rope into reins.

Just then someone came running towards them. It was just some man who had been at the Travel Agency, no one in great importance. "Hey!" He called to them. The Gullwings and the SeeDs turned around to look at him. The man looked quite out of breath as if he had been running as fast as he could. And he probably had. "Yeah?" Zell asked as the man approached them. "What do ya need?"

The man shook his head as he pointed in the direction he had come. "Your friend is in real hot water!" He told them. Everyone's eyes lit up a little. "Huh? Who..." Irvine was starting to ask. "Calli!" Zell said sharply before running down the path. The others quickly followed after.

They ran as fast as they could down the path, the man in the lead. They could already hear a few screams and loud roars of danger up a head. When they found out where Calli was, they already had their weapons out and ready. Calli was in the ravine, lying on her stomach on top of one of the ruins. She seemed to be out cold too. But that wasn't what they were looking at. It was the very large monster, trying to climb up to where she was. Zell recognized it as a Chocobo Eater. He had fought one before. Two years ago when he was in Spira.

But right now, Calli was in trouble.

Zell saw Yuna back up and look ready to jump off the cliff to go to Calli's rescue but Paine quickly stepped into the way. "You can't!" The pepper haired girl said sharply. Yuna just shook her head. "But there isn't much time!" She said worriedly.

And that's when Zell jumped.

"ZELL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Irvine yelled as Zell fell from the bridge. The martial artist ignored him as he slide down the steep side, ending up rolling head over heels when he lost control and landed in the middle of the ravine. "Ow. Don't try that, guys." He muttered just barely loud enough for the others to hear. There was also the loud warks of Chocobos above them and someone shouted, "Heeya!"

Zell climbed to one knee and looked up to see several chocobos flying over head and landing in front of the Chocobo Eater.

Standing close by was Clasko. He was looking quite fierce but proud as he pointed towards the Chocobo Eater. He turned and looked straight up at Yuna and the others. "That can buy you some time, Lady Yuna! Please hurry!" He called. He then looked over at Zell and hurried over to him. "Zell, are you all right?"

Zell just smirked as he stood up, rubbing his head. "Yeah, I'm fine." He then looked over at the Chocobo Eater who was fighting with the Chocobos. "Heh, I think it's time I joined in. Just until the others get here." He looked back at Clasko. "You better stay back. This might get messy." He told him before charging towards the fiend. The blonde SeeD quickly rushed up to the fiend before punching it hard in the back, making it roar in pain and jerk around to face the threat. It roared at him before charging right back. Zell gritted his teeth as he waited as it swung its large fist at him before ducking under it and getting behind the monster. He punched the Chocobo Eater hard in the back again and kept up that strategy until it swung around the other way and hit him hard across the way.

Zell went flying very fast and hit the side of the cliff, leaving almost an imprint of his body. He grunted in pain as he slid down to the ground. "Ouchies." He groaned as he climbed to his feet and looked up at the fiend as it towered over him. He didn't even have time to fight back as it swung at him again, only this time wrapping its powerful hand around. "Oh! This looks familiar!" He growled at himself as he strained his muscles to try and break himself free from the monster's grip.

However, it tightened its hold and that really hurt Zell. He gritted his teeth tightly to keep himself from crying out. There were several warks of anger and the chocobos came to his defense. Feathers started flying as the chocobos attacked the Chocobo Eater. The monster roared in pain, letting Zell drop to the ground. The SeeD landed on his feet but fell to his knees wincing a little pain. "Ow. That really hurt." He grumbled.

Suddenly there was gunfire making the chocobos immediately retreat from the fiend. Zell looked over to see the others had arrived. He grinned as he stood up and got back into his fighting stance. "All right! Time to play hardcore!" He said grinning.

Squall rose a hand as he charged at the fiend with the others beside him. "Zell, stand down! We'll take care of this!"

That came as a blow to Zell as he looked at Squall. "What?! Oh come on, Squall! I want some fun too!" He cried out to his friend. Squall seemed to ignore as he began to attack the fiend. But when Zell snapped back into his fighting stance, he glared at him. "We saw the way it attacked you, Zell. I know you're hurt so stand back." He told him. It was true that Zell's left arm was hurting a little after getting squeezed by the fiend but it wasn't that bad. He was sure that he could still fight. But Squall seemed to read his mind. "Don't make it an order, Zell." The Commander warned him.

Zell grumbled but then stepped back to watch the others attack the fiend. He watched as each of them fought it, making it even weaker with every blow they did to it. He was a little more put out when they finally killed it and he didn't get to do anything. But he was glad that they had defeated it without getting hurt.

Once the Chocobo Eater was gone, Rikku rushed over and threw her arms around him. "Zell! Are you okay?" She asked looking him over. Zell just nodded as he looked at Squall. "I was fine. I wasn't that hurt." He told him.

"Right." Squall said looking him over before sliding his gunblade away. "Then lift up both arms above your head."

Zell gave him a confused look but then did so. When he did, there was a sharp stinging sensation in his left arm. He winced as he quickly dropped his arm and rubbed the area where it had hurt. He instantly knew what had gone wrong. When he had strained his muscles to get out of the fiend's grip, he pulled a muscle. "Ow." He muttered rubbing his arm. Squall looked at him dully while the others looked a little concerned. "Just as I thought." The dark Commander said before he threw his hand towards Zell, casting the Cure spell he had. "You always do that, Zell. You need to think before you jump." He told him a little sternly before walking away.

"Ouch. He's not that nice, is he?" Rikku asked as she watched him go.

Zell shook his head as he rubbed his forearm. "No. It's not that. He's right. I do intend to go over my own limit when there's someone in danger. You guys should already know that. You've seen me fight." He told them.

"Yes." Yuna said shifting her weight. "He's right though. You do need to take it a little easy."

Zell only shrugged before they all walked over to where Calli had jumped down. She was jumping up and down with joy. "Thanks, everyone, for saving me!" She said happily. Everyone just gave her a nod and a smile. "It's no problem at all, Calli. We're just glad you're okay." Yuna said. Everyone just smiled before looking at that Chocobo they had caught. Calli squealed in delight before hurrying over and petting it. "Oh! It's the Chocobo! He's so pretty!"

"How 'bout takin' a ride, missy?" Irvine said grinning. Calli's response was jumping up and down with joy. Everyone but Squall and Paine laughed as they watched Calli climb up on the Chocobo and ride around. The group just went back to the bridge and watched as she rode around, with Clasko telling her how to ride. The two seemed to be getting along just fine.

"She looks happy." Yuna said as she looked thoughtfully down at Calli. Paine folded her arms as she turned and started to cross the bridge. "Whatever works for her." She said. Squall followed after her with Irvine close behind. Yuna, Rikku and Zell looked at one another with smiles. "Shall we?" Yuna asked. The other two just nodded before looking back down at Calli. "Well let's go." Zell said as he walked after Yuna and the others. Rikku paused as she just watched Calli before hurrying after. Zell had to walk to the side of the cliff as a Hover passed by him. He only glanced up at the driver for a second before hurrying after the others. He thought he had heard the driver shouting something and then a crash but he didn't even bother to look behind him as Rikku had joined his side and they both jogged after the others.

They finally reached the Mushroom Rock road and to their great relief there were Leblanc Syndicates running all over. They even spotted Ormi and Logos wandering around but none of them seemed to even notice the six young adults watching them. "Well, we found them. But now we just got to figure out which one of those guys over there is Irve's size." Zell said looking a bunch of guy Syndicates over.

"Let's go check them out then." Yuna said as she lead the way. Everyone just nodded and followed after her.

They were almost close to the Syndicates when they paused to hear a few girls talking about something that definitely caught their attention. They heard something about a sphere and that made all six smirk or smile at one another. "Hey, did you hear that?" Yuna asked as soon as they eavesdropped on one of the groups.

"Yeah. Let's find before they do." Zell said grinning. Squall folded his arms. "We still have to find a uniform for Irvine, though." He reminded Zell, who just waved him away. "I know, Squall. But the sphere those girls were talking about might be really useful." The blonde complained. Squall rolled his eyes though as he looked away.

"Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you guys just look for a uniform while we look for the sphere?" Rikku said shrugging. "That way it'll be like killing two birds with the same stone."

The three SeeDs just shrugged, yet Zell was grinning. "Good idea. We, SeeDs'll look for Irvine's uniform while you take care of the sphere. But if you run into any trouble, give us a shout." He told the girls. All three just nodded before they split up and began their search. The three SeeDs walked down the road, looking at each Syndicate they passed, who stared right back before charging at them. Fighting them was too simple though. The SeeDs were a lot stronger than they were put together. But neither of the Syndicates were Irvine's size. Zell was starting to get a little patient as they passed by several members before Squall stopped and pointed at one Syndicate. "I think that's the closest one we're going to get to." He told the other two.

Zell and Irvine both looked to see a tall Syndicate member arguing with an Al Bhed hover driver. The member wasn't as tall as Irvine was but he was pretty close. Zell nodded as he looked the member over before looking at Irvine. "Yeah, he's just about right. What do you think?"

Irvine pulled a face but breathed out a long sigh. "It'll have to do. Let's go get 'em." He said. The other two nodded and walked over to the arguing two. The argument was pretty bad from what they could hear. As far as they could guess was the driver had refused to let the Syndicate member have his ride and the member was getting angry. He even started to pull out his weapon to attack the Al Bhed. But before it could even leave it's place, a fist hit him hard over the head, knocking him to the ground.

"I don't think so, buddy." Zell said as he lowered his fist after knocking him unconscious. The Al Bhed just stood there in a confused way but didn't seem to care too much of why Zell had just interfered with the fight that was about to break out. Instead he said something in Al Bhed before walking away. "Well, we have your uniform, Irve. Let's go find the girls and see if they found that sphere. Maybe they need some help." Zell said clapping his hands together as if to rid of the dust.

Squall just looked away before pointing down the pathway. "I think they found it just fine."

Both Zell and Irvine turned around to see the girls running towards them, Yuna waving a sphere in her hand. Rikku was laughing as if she found something very funny but Paine just looked annoyed.

"Well?" Zell asked as soon as the girls walked up to them.

Rikku stopped before jumping into his arms and laughed. "Mission accomplished! We've got our sphere! And wait till you see what it can do. Yuna tried it out." She looked down at the unconscious man lying in the bushes. "Hey! You've got a uniform!" She said brightly. Irvine nodded as he flipped the uniform over his shoulder and grinned. "Well, now we can go see Miss Priss and find out what she did with your sphere." He said. Yuna nodded with a smile. "This time, it's our turn."

When they went back to the airship, all of them tried on their uniforms, though Irvine was grumbling on how his was definitely tight on him. It fit him all right but was a little short on him. Squall just told him to deal with it. It was good enough for now. It wasn't like they were going to wear the uniforms for good. They all stood together, looking their selves over or looking over their friends. "All right! Rikku, you look hot!" Zell said grinning at her. Rikku just laughed while the others rolled their eyes and Brother scowled at him.

"We're ready. It's time to pay them a visit." Irvine said tipping his hat.

Paine nodded as she fixed her helmet. "Time to pay the score."

Yuna pointed forward with a determined smile. "Onto Chateau Leblanc!" She said cheerfully and the airship kicked into high speed.

The six finally arrived to Guadosalam by dusk and was standing together, hidden out of the guards' eye sight on the bridge near the Farplane. All of them glanced at one another before nodding. All six of them walked up to the main doors, dressed in their uniforms. The guards guarding the doors both looked at them, though one was more confused than the other.

"Reporting for duty!" Rikku and Yuna both said cheerfully while all of them saluted the two. Though Squall, Zell and Irvine gave them the SeeD salute instead. They weren't exactly sure how the goons usually saluted. It seemed to be just fine because the guards let them past with a thanks. But as the three guys were passing by, the other guard who hadn't spoke stopped them.

"It's your turn to guard the door and our break time."

Zell stepped back in surprise. "Wha? B-but we just got in. That's not what we were ordered to do." He said. The guard just groaned with impatience. "Oh come on, man! We've been standing here for six hours now! It's your turn. Unless you want to take it up with the boss." He growled at Zell. Zell clenched his fist and was ready to start punching this guy but Squall stepped forward and saluted him. "All right. We'll take your positions." He said impatiently. "Just get out of here before we decide to tell the boss that you're slacking off." The two guards just gave him a look but then they hurried away.

Zell and Irvine both looked at Squall, who leaned against the wall as if he was going to do exactly what he had been ordered to do. "Squall, what are you doing? I thought we were..." The blonde SeeD started to say.

"Zell, we're on a covert operation. We have to make them think we are one of them. You know that." Squall said impatiently. "So if we're ordered to do something then we have to do it." He told him. Zell grumbled but then leaned against the other wall, looking a little moody. Irvine just stood right where he was. "Yeah, what about the girls though? What if they need our help?"

"I highly doubt that they do. They can take care of their selves. Besides, if they need our help then they'll call us." Squall said folding his arms. Zell could already tell that he closed his eyes in thought. He always did that.

With a shrug, the blonde just began going through his own thoughts. He was thinking about everything. Trying to piece the puzzle together. A dangerous weapon called Vegnagun. The sphere of the man who looked like Tidus. The disappearance of Bahamut, Ifrit and Shiva. Where had they gone? And where was this whole thing going? Zell didn't like it. And he knew Squall and Irvine didn't either. Something was definitely up. Something bad.

Just as the three SeeDs in disguise got their selves comfortable to waiting for the girls, the doors opened and someone walked out. Zell just tilted his head, looking at the person lazily before quickly straightening with surprise. Irvine seemed just as surprised, though Squall hadn't moved at all. He probably had his eyes closed still. Though Zell couldn't really tell. The person that had just walked out of Leblanc's place happened to be Nooj. The Youth League Meyvn only glanced at the three before continuing away from the Syndicate base.

Zell and Irvine stared after him with surprised but didn't say anything until he was gone. "What the heck is Nooj doing here?!" The blonde SeeD asked. Squall straightened a little but kept leaning against the wall. "Hm. He's up to something. No doubt about that." he said shaking his head.

"Yeah but why was he here?" Zell asked again.

Irvine looked between the other two SeeDs. "You don't think he asked Leblanc to steal from the Gullwings' ship, do ya?" He asked. Zell gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. "I knew he was no good! And look what we did. We gave him that 'awesome sphere'." He growled. Squall only glanced at him. "Zell, cool it. We don't know what he was doing here. Maybe he's just a friend of Leblanc's or something." He shook his head straightening. "I don't like it anymore than you do, Zell. But we're here to find that stolen sphere. Nothing else." He said. Zell just shook his head before folding his arms and began pacing. "I don't like it. I didn't like Nooj when we first met him. But now I really don't like him."

"I know. But like I said." Squall said before going back to his thoughtful stage again while Zell pondered over the thoughts in his head.

Not more than fifteen minutes later, there was someone shouting from within the building. It sounded like that man, Ormi. Zell stepped away from the wall and cracked the doors open to take a look. The two thugs were talking to one another, though Ormi seemed to be panicking about something.

"Huh. I wonder what's up." Zell muttered as he watched the two. Squall only tilted his head towards him before shaking it. He was quiet for a minute before standing up straight and joined his friend to eavesdropping.

"It's the Gullwings! They're downstairs sneaking around!" Ormi whined.

Logos pulled out his guns before hurrying towards the living room door. "Then let's take care of them." He said coolly. Ormi followed after him. "Don't ya think we should wake up the boss?" He asked. Logos didn't look at him. "And get the heel? We can take care of this on our own." He said before they went into the room.

The three SeeDs straightened before looking at one another. "Uh-oh. The girls need our help now. Are we going in?" Zell asked looking at Squall. Squall was quiet for a minute before nodding. "Yeah. Let's go in." He said. Then the three hurried into the room, still wearing their uniforms. The building hadn't changed that much from the last time Zell had been in it. Two years ago, it had been the home of Seymour, the one man that he despised. Now it was the Chateau Leblanc. And it had pink and purple curtains hanging up over the windows. Zell pulled a face under his mask but then took the lead to going into the living room. The three SeeDs had just barely entered the room when Logos and Ormi came running out of a hidden door Zell did not remember being there two years ago. It was lucky the three were still wearing their uniforms other wise there would have been a fight. Though Zell was pretty sure there would be one later.

One look at the three though, Logos pointed at them as they stopped by the door. "You three! Where have you been?!" He demanded.

Zell and Irvine looked at one another while Squall shrugged. "Uh..." The blonde began.

"Oh! Never mind! We have intruders in the hidden corridors! Take care of them right now while we report to the boss!" Logos ordered. And then he and Ormi was gone.

"..." Squall muttered.

Zell slouched a little but then shook his head. "Man, that was dumb. I hate getting ordered around by idiots like that." He said before turning towards the secret door. "Well, shall we go find the girls and get the heck out of here?" He asked. The other two only nodded and they proceeded to going into the hidden corridor.

This was definitely weird to Zell. He had been in that one room just once and had not ever known there was a secret corridor. Of course, how he could have known? It was Seymour's old place. It wasn't like the evil Maestor was going to give Yuna and her Guardians a tour of the place. Not long after they were in there, they had seemed to gotten lost. The halls twisted and turned like a maze and they still couldn't find out where the girls were. They thought they heard gunfire but they weren't too sure until they got closer to it.

Finally they heard some screaming and then they took off running. Zell in the lead, they turned a corner to see the Yuna, Rikku and Paine locked in a battle with Leblanc and the two thugs. They seemed to be doing pretty well but they were also taking a beating. There was a very strong whirlwind of some sort swirling around the girls and making them stagger from the impact. And with Logos firing into the whirlwind at them like he was, they were in trouble.

"Oh no. You did not just fire at my girl." Zell growled before quickly shedding his uniform, revealing his cloths under them.

"It's time for the SeeDs to kick some ass." Irvine said placing his cowboy hat back onto his head. Squall was out of his uniform as fast as his two friends were. He slashed the air with his gunblade before all three of them rushed forward to help the Gullwings.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow." Logos said as he aimed to fire another round at the Gullwing girls but before he could, something slammed into him, knocking off his feet.

"Don't you dare shoot them, you jerk!" Zell snapped.

Leblanc and Ormi spun around to see who had interrupted while Logos got to his feet, groaning a little from pain. "What?! Who are you?!" The snotty blonde demanded.

"Boss! It's those three we told yas about!" Ormi said as he stood ready to fight.

"Zell!" Rikku and Yuna said breathlessly. "Squall, Irvine!"

Paine was bent over a little but stood up a little straighter. "It's about time you got here." She said sounding very annoyed. The three SeeDs just faced the three enemies. "Don't worry about that, Paine. Now what do you say we pound some manners into these three dweebs?" Zell asked punching at the air. Yuna, Paine and Rikku all smiled as they straightened and stood ready. All six stood around the three, their weapons ready.

"How dare you! I'll teach you not to mess with the Mighty Leblanc!" Leblanc snapped.

Zell rolled his eyes as he looked at her. "Yeah right. More like the mighty pain in the ass." He said sarcastically. Rikku and Yuna both laughed while Paine just smirked. Leblanc was not amused. "OH! I'll teach you! Boys! Are you ready?!"

"Yes, boss!"

The three SeeDs all stood ready to face their enemies while the girls would stand back and watch. "Hmph. This will be an easy match." Squall said quietly. Zell punched at the air as he looked towards Omri. "Girls, we'll take care of this. Just stand by and watch the fun."

"Whatever happened to not hurting girls?" Paine asked sarcastically as she slide her sword away and folded her arms.

Irvine tilted his hat back before raising his shotgun at Logos. "Oh don' ya worry, Paine. We won't be hurting Leblanc. She's just gonna be a little sore in the mornin', that's all." And the fight began.

Zell waited as Ormi jumped for to hit him with his large shield before he quickly jumped to the side and around the large man. He grinned as he threw his palm forward hitting the man in the back and sending him flying across the floor. "Ha! That's one thing you have to know. Never rush your opponent." He said before rushing towards him. Logos and Irvine faced one another, guns trained on each other. "Do you honestly think you are a better marksman than I?" The very tall thin gunslinger asked. The cowboy just grinned at him. "Why don't we just find out, partner? I'll even let you fire first." He said. Logos hesitated but then began firing his guns quickly. Irvine dodged to the side as the bullets came at him before he threw a Demi spell at Logos, knocking him off his feet before blasting him with Fire Ammo. Leblanc wasn't faring any better than her two goons. She kept trying to slash Squall with her clawed fan but he blocked very easily with his gunblade. And that was all he was doing. He wasn't even attacking back. Just letting her attack him while he defended himself. But when Leblanc miscalculated her steps, she tripped on her own feet and fell to the floor. That was when Squall threw the Stop spell onto her and she was still as ever. "Too easy." He muttered before stepping back.

"Ha! How'd you like that?! Want another helping of your just desserts?!" Rikku said as the battles ended only minutes later.

Paine smirked as she folded her arms. "No one's going to hear you scream from down here." She said with amusement. Leblanc and her goons were panting from exhaustion but as soon as that threat came out of Paine's mouth, the blonde shook her head looking up at them with fear. "W-wait a second! I'll...uh, I'll let you see what's on the sphere!" She said pointing her fan towards the broken sphere in Yuna's hand. It surprised Zell, Squall and Irvine to see that there were now two half spheres.

"Let us?" Paine asked with a raised eyebrow.

Leblanc sighed in defeat before lowering head. "Please. The sphere is yours to watch."

"Huh. So that's why they stole the broken sphere. They had the other half already." Zell said as he went over to get a better look at the sphere. Yuna just nodded as she put the halves together. "That's right, Zell." She said before pushing play. The three Gullwings and the SeeDs all moved a little closer to see what the sphere's contents were.

The sphere only showed the super weapon, Vegnagun again. Only this time there were guards walking all around it. By the look of the walls all around the weapon, it was in Bevelle.

Everyone looked at Leblanc as she began to make herself more presentable again. "That is the colossus Vegnagun." She began with a shrug. "We've finished our analysis of the sphere. It appears to have been recorded underneath Bevelle."

Zell frowned at the very thought of that. If Bevelle was hiding that dangerous weapon, then so must have Baralai. "Bevelle?" He asked. The others only glanced over at him. Paine impatiently folded her arms, looking moodier than ever. "I see Bevelle hasn't lost its fondness for secrets." She muttered. Leblanc nodded as she pointed her hooked fan towards her. "Exactly!" She said sounding a little excitedly yet annoyed. "Those Yevon scums have been concealing that weapon all along. If anyone uses that thing, Spira is done for."

Irvine folded his arms while tipping his head back a little. "It can't be that powerful, can it? I mean, it's just a machine and if I didn't know any better, this world's a lot bigger than it, ain't it?" He asked looking around. Zell looked away with a look on his face. "You'd be surprised, Irve. Spira's a lot different from Gaia." He told him.

Rikku bounced up and down on her heels. "But it's a machina! All we gotta do is shakey-shake our way up to it and take it apart." She said sounding excited. Zell grinned at her idea, even Leblanc was smirking. "That's what Noojie's got in mind. And of course, whatever he's planning is what I"m planning." She then tilted her head back while looking right at Yuna. "What about you?"

Yuna was a little surprised at the question. "Me?"

Leblanc nodded as she folded her arms. "The summoner who defeated Sin ought to stand up and defend Spira again." She said. Yuna was quiet for a minute before she glanced around at everyone then nodded. "So, then I guess we're on the same side. We'll be waiting for you." She said starting to turn away with Ormi and Logos.

The three SeeDs and three Gullwings all looked at one another though Paine was giving Leblanc a look. "Waiting where?" She asked, sounding as if she was going to regret even asking.

"Don't be silly, love." Leblanc said smirking at them again. "On your airship of course. I've always wanted to take a spin on that thing!" She said before she turned around and started out of the room. Zell gritted his teeth with annoyance while the others just shook their heads.

"Every heard of asking?!" Rikku exclaimed as they watched their rivals hurried off.

But Leblanc didn't reply as they vanished around the corner. Zell glanced side wards at Yuna, who lowered her head, looking worried about something. It didn't take a genius to guess what she had been thinking of. Once again, there was a threat in Spira. At least, a possible threat. Zell didn't like it anymore than she did. But at least this time, they couldn't stop the threat from happening before it ever did. Not like it had been with Sin. But as they started to leave the Leblanc Chateau, Zell couldn't shake the feeling of dread. There was too many secrets being hidden. By both groups, the Youth League and the New Yevon. He couldn't help but grumble at himself for even thinking about trusting that Baralai guy. He had to be behind it all. He was the leader for Hyne's sake. Of course, Nooj wasn't trustworthy either. So who was, besides the people he already knew?


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8 or 10-2 grins evilly Yet.**

**Chapter 11.**

By the time that the group arrived back at the airship, Leblanc and her goons were already causing trouble. They were moving around the cockpit, getting on Brother's nerves. He did not like this at all. Buddy and Logos seemed to be having a square off about who was going to navigate. As for Ormi, he was bugging Shinra about his machines. The kid looked ready to turn around and punch the fat guy. The Gullwings and the SeeDs just stood around, giving the three a dark look for bothering their friends.

"First things first! We're going to Bevelle. Full speed ahead!" Leblanc ordered, pointing her fan straight ahead of her. Brother gave her a very dark look as he whirled around in his chair. "You just wait, blondie!" He shouted at her before looking at Yuna. "Yuna. What next?" He asked in a more soft tone. However, once again, Leblanc jumped in the conversation, while tapping her fan onto her shoulder. "She's off to save Spira, of course!" She announced as she looked fondly at Yuna, but everyone could tell that she was faking it.

Zell gave her a very cool look for it. He folded his arms and shifted his weight as he glared. "WE! We are going to save Spira. We're going to help her." He said looking at Yuna. Yuna just smiled and nodded. "Right!"

Beside her, Rikku sighed and shook her head. "Yunie, Yunie." She sighed as she placed a hand onto her waist. Paine smirked to herself as she just folded her arms. "Always getting herself dragged into trouble." She added. Zell grinned as he put an arm around Rikku's shoulders. "And pulling us with." He teased.  
"Hey!" Yuna whined as she gave them a pouty look. She obviously was not in the mood to be teased. But then she shrugged, when Squall reached over and slapped Zell in the back of the head for teasing her. Then he looked at her. "Yuna, don't let Leblanc bully you into doing anything. It's your decision, not hers. By rights, they shouldn't even be on this airship."

Yuna then sighed as she dropped her hands to her sides. "Well, we're going to Bevelle." Then she got a very bright look on her face. "There should be lots of spheres there! SO why don't we hunt for them on the side?" She asked. Zell and the others grinned and nodded in agreement. They figured that she had a point. Leblanc on the other hand just shook her head and sighed. "Just admit it, love. You're a goody-goody." She muttered. Once again, everyone in the airship was glaring at the busty blonde for insulting Yuna once again. Zell was on the verge of going over and beating her up, woman or not. But Irvine grabbed his shoulder, holding him back.

Finally, the ship was moving full speed towards Bevelle. No one said anything as they just stood around in the cockpit waiting for the word that they were there. Zell was giving Leblanc, Ormi and Logos a dark look as they continued to badger some of the Gullwings about the airship. The blonde bimbo was trying to get Brother to do some wheelies or something. But everyone knew that it wasn't smart to do that in an airship like the Celsius. It was too big and too heavy to do tricks and all that.

But after almost twenty minutes later, Buddy turned around and gave the thumbs up. "We've made it! We'll go ahead and drop you guys off." He paused to look at the three Leblanc Syndicates. "What about them? Are they staying or going?"

"We're going of course! I am not going to miss this at all!" Leblanc said as she tapped her fan against her hip.

The Gullwings and the SeeDs looked at Leblanc with dull looks but Yuna sighed and nodded to Buddy. She didn't want to argue with the blonde right now so she would let her have her way. "They're coming with us." She told the Al Bhed. The Al Bhed nodded as he pressed the button to transport them down to the bridge.

A few minutes later, the three of each group, The Gullwings, the SeeDs and the Syndicate were all standing the bridge to Bevelle, looking around. The city seemed to be quite in a state though. There were guards all along the bridge, though they didn't seem to know that they were there. So the three groups of three looked at one another as they stood on the end of the bridge.

"So, how we gonna do this?" Rikku asked, as she stood right next to Zell, who draped an arm around her shoulders.

Yuna just looked clueless on how to answer that question. She really didn't know what they could do to get to Vegnagun. "Um…." She just rubbed her arm, looking to the three SeeDs for any ideas. The three young men looked at one another, having at least one idea. They were used to this sort of thing, after all. They were SeeDs and have been in a situation like this before. Zell dropped his arm from Rikku's shoulders and folded his arms. "Well, I guess we can grab someone and make them lead us to that Vega-whatever." He said, with a nod.

Squall rolled his eyes as he shifted his weight impatiently. "That's Vegnagun, Zell." He said dryly.

Leblanc, however, nodded as she jabbed her fan towards the blonde SeeD, obviously agreeing with him. "It's obvious! We nab the head honcho. Then, we make him lead us to Vegnagun, and checkmate!" She said excitedly. And because she agreed, so did her men. They were both nodded rather enthusiastically.

"Not bad." Yuna voiced her opinion.

Rikku also nodded while Paine just frowned and looked thoughtfully at the ground. Ormi just snorted as he placed a big hand onto his fat waist. "I got no problem with this. Our target is the New Yevon praetor, Baralai!" He announced. Zell stiffened when he heard that. He did not like that plan. He still liked Baralai. He was so sure that the man was trustworthy. To think someone so calm and giving him a peaceful feeling, Zell did not want to harm the white haired leader. He just didn't.

"A girly man like that doesn't stand a chance without his escort." Logos added to what Ormi said.

Zell shot the tall, thin man a dark look. He did not agree with that at all, though in a way he had a point. Baralai didn't seem the type that did any type of fighting. So he was sure that if they attacked the young man, he wasn't going to be able to fight them off. Thinking about attacking a harmless man like Baralai didn't settle too well with the martial artist. However, Paine seemed to have read his thoughts because she looked directly at him as she dropped her arms. "Careful." She said quietly, getting everyone's attention. "He's much stronger than he looks." That made everyone just stare at her with surprise. They were surprised to hear that she knew something about Baralai too. Zell was even about to start badgering her about it, deciding that he was not going to leave her alone until she answered the questions. "Company." Added Paine, nodding.

But before he could, he heard footsteps coming towards them, making him and the others turn around. They turned to see two guards, walking towards them, though one was looking very nervous. "Who goes there?" The nervous one asked. When the guards looked at the three groups, recognizing Yuna, they immediately rose their weapons, looking very angry. So obviously, these men knew who they were and what they had done. And they had not forgiven Yuna and her friends for stealing the "Awesome" sphere and giving it to Nooj. "It's those Youth League spies! We won't have you defile this place like you did in Kilika!" The other guard yelled angrily.

Beside the Gullwings and the SeeDs, Leblanc chuckled nervously before she waved her fan at them. "Well, good luck!" She said before she scampered off with Logos and Ormi right behind her.

The three SeeDs glared after her, dully. As if they weren't already annoyed with the blonde woman and her dobes already, they just made things a whole lot worst. Zell was grinding his teeth and making his knuckles crack as he watched the Leblanc Syndicate hide behind something and watch the six young teens fight these guys. Yuna on the other hand looked a little clueless. "Good luck?" She asked before she gasped when the guards started firing their guns at her.

"Protect!" Squall immediately threw the spells around the three girls and the bullets bounced off the shield.

Zell now turned his glare onto the guards. He wasn't particularly in a good mood because of the three dweebs who tagged along but when these guards started firing at his girlfriend, his friend and the other one, he was in a fouler mood. "Shoot at my girl, will you?!" he growled before lunging towards the startled guards. A little too alarmed, the guards turned and started to flee from the charging blonde. They didn't get too far because they felt Zell's heavy fist hit them over the heads, knocking them out easily.

"Zell, cool it." Squally said dryly as he started to walk along the bridge.

Both Yuna and Rikku looked a little startled but they were used to Zell's bad temper. They just didn't think that he'd get like that against a couple of guards. But without a word, they continued on, everyone highly annoyed with Leblanc and her goons as they followed them.

As they went, the groups of three noticed how big of a mess it was in Bevelle. There were people running from one place to another and no one seemed to know what to do at all. They were all like lost sheep. Even the guards looked lost on what they should do. They didn't attack the group as they made their way towards the Bevelle Temple, figuring that was where they should go to find Vegnagun. Even in the temple it was a mess. The priests were rushing one place to the other, just like the people.

"Geeze, things really are a mess, huh?" Rikku asked as she looked around.

Everyone else nodded as they made their way towards the lift. Zell, however, glanced over at Yuna as she looked around gravely. She was not happy at all to see this mess. Things were falling apart in Bevelle and this was her home city. So she couldn't be happy. "Yeah." Yuna said quietly before they all climbed onto the lift and went down to the Cloister.

However, they were in for a bigger shock as they found their way down there. There were fiends wandering the catwalks that Zell remembered so well. He couldn't believe that there were actually fiends in the temples. And neither could Yuna or Rikku.

"Wait! What are fiends doing in the temple?" Rikku asked in alarm.

Paine shook her head as she shared a look with Squall. Neither one looked more or less suspicious than the other. "The temples reek of secrets." Paine said quietly. "Don't let a couple of fiends throw you."

Zell gritted his teeth before he started moving forward. He, like everyone, didn't like the looks of this. And they had yet to find Baralai. Only before they came down to the Cloister, they had overheard one of the priests say that he had gone missing. Now that had Zell a little worried, but suspicious. "Let's just find Baralai or Vegna-whatever." He muttered moodily. Everyone nodded before making their way down the corridors.

For almost an hour, they searched for any sign of Baralai or the giant machine that they were looking for. But they found nothing, until they came to an empty chamber where there was a long pit in the middle of the floor. With a frown, everyone jumped down, finding their selves in a massive chamber. It was huge; bigger than Zell even imagined. And it wasn't even the chamber that they had seen on the sphere with Vegnagun. This meant, all three of the SeeDs figured at the same time, that there was something a whole lot bigger under Bevelle than they even knew about. The problem was, the very minute they even entered the large room, a shrill alarm went off, making everyone jump and look around. So, they knew they'd have to forget a sneak attack on Vegnagun. Zell even started grumbling about it as he looked around at the flashing red lights. He wasn't the only one. Even Squall looked a little moody that the alarm went off.

Yuna, on the other hand, just turned to Leblanc and her goons. "Watch the exit!" She told them before rushing towards the edge of the balcony with the three SeeDs and her two friends.

Leblanc looked rather furious at the orders though. She glared at Yuna's back and stomped a foot. "I don't take orders!" She hissed in annoyance. But then paused when everyone else looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You're welcomed to join us then." Irvine said pointing towards a large platform where a few robots were coming out. "But….I'll make an exception this time." Leblanc quickly stated as she turned and rushed towards the exit with her men. "Leave it to us, Love!"

Shaking their heads, The Gullwings and the SeeDs quickly made their way along the balcony till they came to a large chain that connected to the platform in the middle. Zell studied it quickly before jumping up onto the side. "Looks like we've got to take the chain down! Come on!" He told them. Everyone nodded and quickly joined him. One by one, they all slid down the chain until they reached the middle of the chamber. They were quickly met by two large robots, which immediately began to attack them.

"Hey! Wait! It us, the Gullwings!" Rikku yelped as she dodged bullets and missiles being launched at them.

Paine shook her head as she quickly deflected a bullet with her long sword. "I don't think they care." She remarked. Squally nodded as he whipped out his Lionheart Gunblade and readied himself. He agreed with Paine. The robots were on a defense simulation and were designed to attack intruders, which was what they were. So it was time to take deactivate the security system. "Let's care of this right now." He said quietly. And they all charged.

The fight with the robots and a few monsters didn't last too long. They weren't really something that was too hard to fight for the Gullwings and the SeeDs; the young men especially. They had fought tougher opponents than these ones. They went on to find the whereabouts of Vegnagun was. And even though they were also looking for Baralai, Zell hoped that they wouldn't find him. He really did not want to hurt that guy. The three groups soon found their selves entering a long passageway, which lead into a large room with a giant machine in the middle of the room. It was some kind of gaol of some sore. It had platforms on some of the arms and was spinning around, making loud clunks as it moved. The room, however reminded all of them as the room that the Tidus look alike had been in.

"Hey!" Rikku blurted out as they looked around. "Yunie! That sphere with you-know-who in it. Wasn't it recorded here?!"Everyone frowned as they looked around the large room. Even Zell had to admit it. But this place did look like the room that "Tidus" had been in. He wondered if Tidus had been there. He really hoped so. He really hoped that he could find the one guy that he could call brother, other than Squall and Irvine.

"Get your head out of the clouds and move it!" Leblanc suddenly snapped, making everyone glance at her.

Annoyed the SeeDs gave the blonde woman a very dark look for being snappy at them and the girls. Zell also began to realize that Squall's patience was wearing very thin on this woman. He had such a dark look on his face that he usually used for enemies, like Seifer. The three Syndicates decided to hang around the large room, getting footage on a sphere, much to everyone's relief. It was better if they didn't go with the SeeDs and the Gullwings, for their sakes.

Together, made their way across the way towards another door on the other side of the room. They all walked in silence as they traveled down a long corridor until they heard footsteps. Everyone froze with their hands on their weapons. Someone was coming. Zell balled up his fists tightly and readied himself to launch towards their enemy. He was not going to let any monster get to his girl and his friends. He had had enough of those monsters in this temple.

But to his utter horror, Baralai was the one who came around the corner.

Baralai looked almost as surprised as they were to see them. He had not expected to see them down there. He looked rather confused at first as he looked them over. "The Gullwings?" But then his face softened as if he realized something. "I was wondering who was there." He moved closer towards them, still looking them over. Everyone else was a little tense but Zell moved forward a step, opening his mouth to say something. But Baralai then shook his head. "You don't have to tell me. I know why you've come." He cut the blonde off. "You're here to destroy the weapon that threats all Spira: Vegnagun. Am I right?"

Zell nodded as he glanced over his shoulder at the others. He saw that Squall and Paine was looking very tense, as if they were expecting a fight. Irvine wasn't even sure what to do. Yuna and Rikku looked forlorn though. They knew that this wasn't going to turn out very well. So the blonde SeeD looked at Baralai again. "Yeah. We have to destroy it before anyone can use it."

"If it could be destroyed," Baralai said with a sigh. "We would have done so long ago. But Vegnagun must not be touched. Neither you nor Nooj seem to understand that."

Everyone frowned at that. They looked at one another before Paine moved forward, frowning. "You talked to Nooj?" She asked, her head tilted. Baralai looked away, looking rather distance. He didn't look like he wanted to talk about it. "Nooj…..He cannot be trusted." "And you can be?" Paine asked dully as she folded her arms. Squall nodded in agreement with Irvine. They both had to agree with the woman in black leather. Baralai, right at this moment, didn't appear to be someone to trust. Even though Zell did trust him. "You haven't be exactly open with us, Baralai. You didn't tell us about you having Vegnagun under Bevelle." Squall said dryly.

Baralai just hummed softly as looked away, starting to pace before the two groups. He looked as if he didn't blame them at all. "Touche. Yes, I suppose Yevon has brought that distrust upon itself." He shook his head as he looked at the group of warriors. "At any rate, you need not interfere. Leave Vegnagun to me." He told him. Zell found himself nodding. He felt as if they should do as Baralai asked. He even started to turn away as if to leave but he froze when he saw Squall moving forward his hand on his Lionheat. He knew that Squall was not going to listen to this guy. This didn't sit too well with Zell at all. He placed a hand onto Squall's shoulder as if to stop him, but the Dark Commander just brushed him off. "Zell, that machine needs to be destroyed. It's too dangerous." He muttered softly to the blonde.

Yuna must have heard anyway and to keep the two friends from arguing, she moved forward a step. "What are you planning to do?" She asked, shutting them both up.

Baralai sighed as he reached into his pocket of his coat and drew out a long ruler sized pole before he pressed a button on it, extending the ends into a bostaff. Zell immediately tensed as he jumped into a fighting stance. He knew for a fact that Baralai was planning on fighting them if they tried to push past him to Vegnagun. He didn't like this at all. "The only thing I can do; keep those who would seek to harm Vegnagun away." Baralai told them calmly. "Please leave."

"He-Hey, Hey!" Zell said uneasily. He did not want to fight Baralai.

With a frown, Paine pulled out her sword and moved forward, glancing over her shoulder at Yuna and Rikku. She was determined to fight him, if she really had to. "Yuna. Rikku. I'm going." She said before looking forward. Baralai looked as alarmed as Zell as he looked at her. "Paine." He said softly.

That surprised Zell. So Baralai knew Paine too?! Who else knew Paine?!Squall joined Paine's side as he pulled out his Lionheart. His stormy blue eyes only glared straight at Baralai, as he held up his blade, ready to fight. "Zell, Irvine. Let's go." He silently ordered. Irvine only nodded as he pulled out his silver Exterior and shouldered it while glancing at Zell. He knew how uneasy his blonde friend was about fighting this guy. "Come on, Zell. It has to be done. Ya know it has to." He told him quietly. Zell groaned but nodded as he moved forward. "Sorry, Baralai. I like you. But we have got to destroy Vegnagun. Like it or not." He said as he cracked his knuckles. Baralai just shook his head before charging forward, while spinning his bostaff in hand and swinging it at the group.

Immediately everyone jumped into action. Both Paine and Squall blocked the staff with their swords while Zell and Rikku rushed forward to attack him. The young Al Bhed girl went low, trying to steal something from him while the SeeD went high and swung at his head. He pulled back the punch a little, so to not hurt Baralai too much. But to his surprise, Baralai ducked under his fist. He hadn't been expecting the white haired young man to be so swift on his feet. And before he knew it, a wind spell kicked Zell right in the chest, sending him flying across the hallway until he slammed into the wall.

"Ow!" The SeeD yelped as he rubbed his chest where the spell hit.

That just seemed to annoy Squall a little. The Dark Commander quickly slashed at the bostaff in Baralai's hand before throwing out his own wind spell. The spell knocked Baralai back a little but then he swung his staff, knocking everyone away from him. "Okay. So he's tougher than he looks." Irvine remarked as he bent down to pick up his hat when it fell from his head. "I told you." Paine said a little out of breath. Squall looked over at Zell, a serious look in his eye. That was a look that the blonde SeeD knew only too well. He knew that Squall was in no mood for any arguments at all. "Uh-oh. What now, Squall?" Zell asked, as he pushed himself off the wall. The Dark Commander of SeeD shook his head as he looked back at Baralai. "If you don't want him dead, Zell, I suggest you knock him out right now." He said dryly. Everyone glanced at the two, wondering what they were planning. But then Zell sighed as he tightened his gloves then nodded. "All right. Sorry, Baralai. But this is going to hurt." He warned before launching himself forward while Squall and Irvine stepped back. And because they stepped back, the Gullwings decided to do the same, just to be sure.

They just watched as Zell began to practically dance around Baralai, trying to lay hits off of him or dodge the staff from hitting him. But then, after awhile, Zell dashed right up and slammed his fist right into Baralai's stomach, making the white haired Praetor double over with a gasp. It seemed that Zell had hit him a little too hard because he fell completely over. But then the others could see that it wasn't just the case. The hit to the stomach had actually knocked Baralai out. Before Baralai could hit the ground, Zell caught him in his arms then lowered him down to the floor.

"Sorry, buddy. But you really didn't give us a choice." He said as he put Baralai onto the ground. He shook his head as he stood up straight again and looked at the others.

Squall only nodded once to let him know that he did the right thing, even though Zell couldn't help but feel a little guilty for having to knock Baralai out like that. He knew for a fact that the white haired man was definitely going to be feeling that when he woke up."Sorry, I'm going ahead." Paine suddenly announced as she turned to keep going down the hall. Everyone looked at the peppered haired girl as she started to walk away. Yuna seemed to understand because she nodded. "You have your reasons." She told her silently.

Rikku nodded as she wrapped her arms around herself and went over to Zell's side. "Fill us in later, 'kay?" She said, timidly.

Paine just waved a hand over her shoulder as she kept walking. "Much Later." She told her as she walked off.

The others just glanced at one another before Rikku scampered after the girl in black leather. Irvine was soon following. Zell, Squall and Yuna both hesitated as they glanced at the unconscious Baralai. They both weren't like this, obviously. And they probably were thinking the same thing. They didn't want to know where this whole thing was going.

"NO WAY!!" Rikku suddenly shouted from the next room.

"Zell! Squall! I think you better get in here!" Irvine shouted as he appeared in the door way.

Frowning, the two SeeDs looked at one another before looking at Yuna. They stared for a few seconds before they quickly hurried down the hall into the next room. None of them were ready to see what was in the room. The King of the Dragons, Aeon and Guardian Force, Bahamut. Everyone froze as they stared up at the dragon hovering above their heads. None of them were sure if what they were seeing was actually true or not. They thought that the light or darkness, maybe the weird pyreflies flying around the room was playing a trick on their eyes. But when the dragon saw them and growled, they knew it wasn't a trick. Zell glanced over at Squall to see what his reaction and he was surprised to see the shock on his face. Squall had not see Bahamut's aeon look before.

"What is it?" Paine's voice broke everyone out of their thoughts.

Slowly, Yuna stepped forward staring up at Bahamut with wonder and worry. She, like Rikku and the SeeDs, couldn't believe her eyes as they just stared up the dragon. Bahamut was here. He had come to Spira after all. But how? Why?

"It's an Aeon." Rikku said softly with confusion in her eyes. But then she flinched when Bahamut roared at them, almost threateningly. Everyone stepped back in surprise. Squall frowned as he rose an arm to shield himself from the roar but then lowered his arm. "Bahamut." He muttered.

"This doesn't look good at all." Irvine said nervously. "He does not look happy to see us, guys."

Zell swallowed hard as he balled up his fists. He agreed with Irvine on this one. Bahamut did look like he was about to attack them. He glanced over when he saw Yuna moved forward before throwing her arms out to her sides. "You must stop!" She cried to the Aeon/GF. Everyone looked at her with alarm but Paine quickly reached out and grabbed Yuna by the arm. "You wanna get killed?! We have no choice!"

Yuna shook her head as she looked at her with pain. "But….."

Squall shook his head as he moved forward and looked at Bahamut through his stormy colored eyes. He looked rather grave as he even thought about fighting the King of Dragons. And Zell didn't blame him. He shuddered at the idea of having to fight him. He remembered the last time he and the others had. Bahamut was one tough opponent to fight. And he was sure that this was not going to be an easy fight. "Bahamut." The Dark Commander beside him muttered. "Bahamut, so it is you. Are you going to fight us or tell us what's going on?"

Bahamut answered by charging at them. It slammed down on the large platform before the six young fighters and snarled at them. Immediately the SeeDs had out their weapons and backed away, with apprehenision. None of them were looking forward to this.

"Aww, man. Why'd we have to fight Bahamut again?" Irvine groaned as he trained his shotgun at the large dragon.

Zell gritted his teeth as he looked over at Yuna, Rikku and Paine. "Hey, if you're not ready to fight him, let us handle him!" He said. Paine just shook her head as she moved forward to stand right next to Squall. "I'm ready for anything." She just said. So it was mostly just Yuna and Rikku that stayed back.

Immediately the three SeeDs and Paine jumped into action, starting to attack Bahamut. Unfortunately they had to move very fast for Bahamut was still as tough as the SeeDs remembered. He slashed at them with his sharp claws, ripping into the metal under their feet and roared angrily when he missed. Zell rushed forward and began pounding hard against Bahamut's tough skin with his fists while Irvine took series of shots. Squall and Paine both kept hacking away at him with their swords. After awhile, Bahamut roared at them, making Zell wince and raise his arm to protect himself from the dragon's breath, when he realized that was exactly what Bahamut had in mind. "Aw, crap!" He yelped. Even Squall and Irvine were leaping back as far as they could. The Dark Commander quickly grabbed a hold of Paine, pulling her out of the way just as the large dragon activated his Mega Flare. A hot ball of blue flames flew from its mouth at them, but luckily everyone had gotten out of the way in time. Zell was the closest to getting barbequed though. He was smoking a little just as the ball of flames hit the farthest wall behind them, which practically made a melting hole.

"Oh, my god." Paine muttered in horror.

All three SeeDs frowned dryly as they looked at Bahamut. They were clearly not amused about this. They hated it when the Dragon King pulled that move on them. It was a very dangerous attack. His most powerful and it could destroy a town with it. "All right, Bahamut. You want to play it that way, fine." Squall muttered, moving forward.

But Yuna stepped into the way, holding out a hand towards him. "Let me handle this now." She said gravely. "Yuna……" Zell said with confusion. Yuna had clearly been crying but the wet stains on her cheeks but she just brushed them away and shook her head as she touched her garment grid on her waist. It was then, everyone noticed that all of the spheres on it were glowing. Swirls of light purple energy was starting to whirl around her. "I have to do this." She said softly before she moved closer to Bahamut. Then without a word, the light around her flashed and she began to change. Everyone watched in wonder and awe as the purple energy turned into silver light and instead of Yuna standing there now, there was a giant flower. Seeing the flower surprised everyone. Especially when Yuna was sitting right in the middle of it.

It was as if she was the flower. Three large pistils stood above her, while the new outfit that Yuna was wearing swirled as if it was alive. Stranger as it seemed, Yuna's brown hair had turned silver, the color of the dress she was wearing. It was definitely a beautiful side of Yuna, as she wasn't beautiful enough.

Suddenly, the pistils began to swirl in circles all around Yuna, creating a brilliant silver light. She just pointed at Bahamut with a sad but determined look on her face and said something. And no one could be sure what she said for it was too quiet. But whatever it was, it unleashed an amazing attack onto Bahamut. The pistils were spinning so fast now that they looked like a giant circle around Yuna, which created some kind of diamond in front of her. Without a pause, light began to pour into the diamond and shoot towards Bahamut, firing several balls of light at once. The balls rammed into Bahamut, making him roar in pain and fly backwards a little. But once the attack was done, the Dragon King fell to one scaly knee in defeat. With its own silver light, Bahamut vanished into pyreflies.

Slowly, Yuna returned to her original form, still standing in the middle of the platform, looking as if she was in the deepest pain. Everyone hurried forward and stood around her, looking worried. Paine and Rikku both touched her shoulders in comfort while Yuna fell to her knees. Zell sighed as he looked up at the slowly vanishing pyrflies. "So, that's what happened to Bahamut. I wonder if that's what happened to Ifrit and Shiva too." He muttered. Squall stood next to him, looking just as confused. He didn't understand it any more than the others did but he was itching to find out. "I don't know what's happened to him, or the others for that matter. And the GF have no clue either. But we will find out." He said quietly. Both Zell and Irvine nodded as they turned around and looked at the girls.

"Thank you, Paine." Yuna whispered before she climbed to her feet again. "You were right. We had to fight it, didn't we?" She asked, looking around at everyone.

Slowly everyone nodded. Then without a word, they looked around the room, seeing how empty it was. It was strange, but wasn't this suppose to be the room Vegnagun was kept in? Where was it? Frowning, the six young fighters walked to the edge of the large platform and looked down. To their surprise, there was a giant hole ripped right into the wall. It was obvious that this was Vegnagun's room, but it was gone.

"Nothing." Paine muttered.

Yuna nodded as she looked just as astonished as the others but was taking it a little more calm than Rikku was. "this hole was made recently." She added to Paine's words. Zell shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. He did not like this at all. Especially on how big this hole was. "This is so unreal." He muttered.

"You think it was Vegnagun. Unreal is right….How deep do you think it goes?" Rikku asked looking up at Zell. Irvine gave a low chuckle was he tipped his hat back a little to look at her better. He even waved his hand forward, as if inviting Rikku to do something. "Darling, you wanna find out, you go ahead and jump. We'll just wait right here, okay?" He said before getting punched in the arm by Zell when Rikku whimpered and leapt backwards from the edge. "Ow! I was kidding! She doesn't have to jump!"

"That was for calling her darling! She ain't your darling, Pervine!" Zell growled at him. Both Squall and Paine rolled their eyes, while Yuna and Rikku giggled as they watched Zell and Irvine start arguing a little about the nickname that the blonde SeeD just gave the cowboy.

"What? Where's Vegnagun?!" came Leblanc's annoying high pitched voice.

Everyone turned around and saw that Leblanc and her two goons were coming their way. And none of them looked particularly happy that Vegnagun was nowhere in sight. And to see both Zell and Irvine goofing around, that seemed to anger the blonde bimbo even more. "Not here." Yuna said once they remembered that Leblanc had asked a question. Leblanc looked stunned for a second before she lift her head higher and placed her hand onto her slender waist. She looked almost proud about something and that made the six young adults just stare blankly at her. "It must have fled in terror, knowing I was coming." She said proudly.

Everyone rolled their eyes as they looked away from Leblanc and her two idiots. Rikku just looked back at the giant hole under the platform. "I don't think so." She muttered. Zell nodded in agreement as he bent down to one knee beside her, looking down. He only glanced over his shoulder to see Leblanc now pointing at Logos. "I must report to Noojie-Woojie at once. Boys, record this. Don't miss a detail!" She ordered. The two men nodded as they began to record everything on a sphere. "Yes, boss!" They both said.

Squall just stood next to Paine, looking around suspiciously. It was as if he was sensing something that he didn't like. "Vegnagun." He muttered.

"Was it really here?" Paine added as she shared the same look as he did.

Zell sighed as he looked back into the hole, seeing several pyreflies hovering around out of it but staying near it. It was as if they were afraid to leave them. The blonde SeeD felt tired. He knew that something was terribly wrong. All of the peace that he and Yuna and the others had brought to Spira was now crumbling away under their feet. They knew that everything that they had risked their lives for was starting to fall apart. And that made Zell somewhat angry. The Calm had been what Auron, Jecht and Lord Braska had died for. The Calm had been what Tidus disappeared for. He was not going to let their sacrifices be a waste for some stupid giant machine called Vegnagun.

Then came the transmission from Brother. _"Yuna! We are in super doo-doo! Get back the Celsius on the double!"_

Frowning, the SeeDs and the Gullwings looked at one another with confusion but worry. They knew this was not good. So they went back to the airship.

**_A/N: All right! That's it for this chapter. Sorry it took so long to getting up. I've been busy doing other stuff. Anyway, the Gullwings and the SeeDs are starting to get the picture of what happened to Bahamut, Ifrit and Shiva. Things are starting to really heat up now. I'll have the next chapter up soon. _**

**_Also, just a further note, not that anyone might care, if anyone is interested in roleplaying on Final Fantasy VIII forum boards, I have just the site that you might want to look up on, because it's for cannon and your very own made up characters. _**

**_It's called Final Fantasy VIII World of SeeD. It's where you can roleplay as cannon and made up characters who are trying to train at Garden to become SeeD, interact with other characters and unlock a facinating storyline. It has just started and it still needs more members and characters but from what I can see so far, it's going to be a great story to develope. But to do it, we need your help by bringing your own characters into the story. Because this isn't just about the original SeeDs; Squall and the gang. But it's about everyone. _**

**_If you're interested, you can find the link to on my profile, since it won't let me put it on this chapter. _**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8 or 10-2 grins evilly Yet.**

Chapter 12.

As soon as six teenagers went aboard the Bridge of the Celsius again, they were immediately confronted by Brother. He was panicking and waving his hands above his head. And by the looks of Buddy and Shinra's, mostly Buddy's, Brother had been running around the bridge screaming. There was also an alarm going off above everyone's heads. Things really didn't look good right now.

However, once the six fighters entered the room, Buddy hurried towards them. "Trouble, and I mean big time! Fiends are pouring out of the temples!" he said, sounding more serious than he had ever been.

Alarmed, everyone stepped back as they stared at him. Zell didn't like the sound of this at all. To hear that fiends were coming out of a temple, he didn't like it at all. Beside him, Rikku started bouncing on her heels, looking panicky. "Which ones?!" She asked, nervously.

Brother threw his arms above his head, waving them about. "Only all of them!! It's a freakin' state of emergency!" He cried as he looked wildly at all of them. "What should we do?!" No one spoke for a moment while they tried to think. They didn't know what they could do. What were they suppose to do? "Is it Gullwing time?" Brother added to his last sentence after a while.

Shinra cringed at the thought. "Not exactly sphere hunter work." He muttered within his mask. Buddy nodded as he folded his arms, sharing a look with Irvine. "True. But seeing Yuna out there could calm people down." He added. Zell nodded as he placed his hand onto his waist. He had to admit it, but Yuna did have that thing about her. "Yeah. She is the High Summoner, after all. Seeing Yuna out there might help a lot."

"They'll expect her to do the dirty work." Paine said dryly.

Everyone just sighed or looked away, with a little frustration. They didn't know what to say about it. None of them. Even Squall couldn't think of anything to say. But an idea struck both Rikku and Zell at the same time. They both grinned as they looked around at everyone. "Hey! I've got an idea!" They both said before pausing to glance at one another. Then Zell motioned for Rikku to take the lead. The blonde Al Bhed just nodded brightly as she bounced on her heels. "We can be "Your Friendly Neighborhood Gullwings!" She said brightly. Zell nodded. "Yeah! Like monster hunters or something! You know what I mean?"

"Hmm. You mean taking out fiends and charging for it?" Buddy asked thoughtfully.

However, it seemed to be sitting well with everyone they were all nodded in agreement as they glanced at one another. They all had to admit it but that sounded like a good idea.

Brother jumped up, his arms waving above his head. "E mega ed!!" He shouted happily in Al Bhed.

Paine just glanced at Yuna and Squall. "What do you think?" She asked them both. Everyone also looked at Yuna, wondering what she thought. Zell and Irvine were looking at Squall though. Yuna just smiled brightly as she bounced on her heels. "Well, why not? If that means we an help out people who are in trouble, then sure!!" She said brightly. Squall only dipped his head as he looked at his two fellow SeeDs. "Sounds good to me. That's what SeeDs are all about anyway." He said quietly.

Both Rikku and Zell grinned as they threw fists up into the air in triumph. "Right! That means sphere hunting's on hold!" The blonde Al Bhed said brightly. Yuna just pointed towards the window, smiling just as brightly. "Your Friendly neighborhood Gullwings!!" She cheered.

Brother nodded as he rushed towards his chair, hopping over the back of it. "It's decided! Where to?" He asked.

It was at that very moment, the lights were flashing again and there was an alarm going off. Everyone looked around with a frown while Buddy hurried over to his seat. "Wait a sec." He said as he plopped down in his chair. He typed a little at his computer before frowning with a surprised look on his face.

"Rinno ib!!" Brother said impatiently as he gave him a dull look.

Buddy just ignored him as he stared at his computer before shaking his head. He didn't look too satisfied with what he was reading. "What could this mean?" He asked. Zell frowned as he moved forward, his arms folded. "What is it?" He asked for the benefit of everyone. Buddy looked up at him before shaking his head again and returned to his computer. "Meyvn Nooj of the Youth League, ……and Baralai, praetor of New Yevon…gone. They've disappeared." He told them. Zell stepped back, his eyes wide. He looked as if someone had just punched him hard in the chest. He didn't like the sound of that. He wondered if something had happened to Baralai after he knocked the guy out. He hoped that he wasn't the one responsible for his disappearance.

"Fascinating." Brother said dryly before shaking his head. "All right! Never mind. Now, Friendly Neighboring Gullings…..where to?"

It took a while but everyone decided to go check out Luca first. They wanted to make sure the major city was safe since that was where the most people were. So after making a few checks with the computer, Buddy shook his head as he looked around at everyone. "Hm. No reports of fiend activity here. Guess there's no gil to made in Luca." He then shrugged. "Everyone's worked up about some kind of sphere breaking contest." He told them.

Shinra snorted as he moved away from his computer, giving Buddy a dry look. "That's 'Sphere Break.' You should enter." He said, now looking over at the three girls and the SeeDs. "The grand prize is a dressphere."

The SeeDs just looked at one another, trying to figure out what he was talking about. They had never heard of a Sphere Break. But either way, Rikku looked very excited as she bounced up and down. "Great! I've been practicing!" She said brightly. Zell just went over and draped an arm over her shoulders, smiling. He thought she was so cute when she got like this. Yuna just nodded as she placed a hand onto her waist. "Well, let's go take a look." She told them. Everyone just nodded as they headed straight for the teleportor.

Once they reached Luca, there seemed to be something going on. They spotted Shelinda standing in front of a camera, making the news announcements. The Gullwings and the SeeDs just stood together to watch her have a little fun while doing her job. "You can't go anywhere in Luca without hearing about Sphere Break. And now it's just about time for the competition to get under way." She paused as if she was about to walk away before nodding. "But first a word from our sponsor. Lord Rin!"

The six teens turned their heads just to see the blonde haired Al Bhed that Zell remembered as Rin walk down the stairs with three ladies right behind him. Irvine just grinned and nudged the martial artist before nodding his approval. Both Zell and Squall rolled their eyes at their cowboy friend. It was something they should have expected from Irvine Kinneas.

"Famlusa, ajanouha." Rin said waving at the crowd in the Luca Square. "I am looking forward to fair competition. May the best man win." He told them all.

Rikku just smiled, pumping a fist into the air. "Go time!" She said brightly.

Yuna looked at the three SeeDs, who were still looking like they were debating on if they were going to join in or not. "Hey, guys. Are you going to play too?" She asked. Zell grinned as he nodded. He wanted to give this Sphere Break thing a try. It sounded fun. "Yeah! Why not? Come on, Squall! Irvine! You should play too!" He said brightly. Irvine crinkled his nose but shrugged. "Sure why not?" He remarked. Squall just nodded as he looked around the square. "If I didn't, I wouldn't hear the end of it from Zell. Problem is, how do we play?" He asked. Yuna also looked puzzled. So obviously she had never played before either. Rikku on the other hand just smiled and launched into a lecture about how they took special coins, using them to just add the numbers to a certain number. By the time she finished, the SeeDs understood it. So they all went up to Rin to register.

Once they were in, Rin gave them all a smile. "Kuut milg du oui." He told them before standing off to watch the matches.

Everyone went off on their own and started challenging other players. Mostly, they just had to challenge three people before reaching the final round. Zell had beaten most of the other players, but ended up losing against none other than the kid, Shinra. He wasn't the only one. Even Rikku tried challenging him and she got sorely beat. "Ooooh. I was so close." Rikku pouted as Yuna was walking towards them. Zell just smiled faintly before wrapping his arms around her and gave her a comforting hug. "It's okay, Rikku. It's just a game." He told her.

Rikku continued to pout. "I know. But I really wanted that dress sphere."

Yuna tilted her head to the side as she eyed the two with a frown. "Who beat you?" She asked. Rikku and Zell both looked over at a very amused Shinra, who was sniggering into his hand. The boy just pointed at Yuna. "It's elementary, really, once you get the hang of it. Once I outplay Yuna, the tournament is mine." He said. Several people surrounded Yuna and Shinra to watch them play against one another. Though, Rikku was bouncing up and down with excitement. "Get him, Yuna!" She said cheerfully. Zell nodded grinning as he watched as they began to play. "Yeah! Beat the kid, Yunster!" He said pumping a fist into the air.

Yuna nodded before she and Shinra began to play. It was a very long game between them. And it was a very close match. But, however, Yuna lost to Shinra. Sighing in defeat, she fell to her knees and shook her head. "Awww." She moaned. Shinra just grinned before jumping up and down. "Yeah! I won! That sphere is mine!" He said cheerfully. Several people were applauding him already, though some just groaned in defeat.

Rin, however, chuckled as he moved into the circle. "Not quite, Shinra." He stated. Everyone looked at him with surprise and confusion but he just shook his head. "You still have one more round. The Final round. Your challenger," He paused before motioning his hand off to the side to, surprisingly, Squall. "Is him."

"Squall! You've made it to the final round?!" Zell asked in surprise.

The Dark Commander just nodded as he folded his arms and looked dryly at Shinra, who was looking a little put out that he hadn't won just yet. "Yes. And I will be taking that dress sphere then." He said quietly. Shinra just snickered before moving forward. "The probability you'll win is slim at best. That dress sphere is mine." He said with much confidence. Squall's head dipped down a little before he nodded. "We'll see."

The match began immediately.

The game was even longer than the one between Yuna and Shinra. Many people were standing around Squall and Shinra, watching intensively as they played. And many people were holding their breath as each one made their moves. It was a very close match. But, it seemed that it wasn't just luck that was on Squall's side. He had skills. Because he won the match. The very second Squall won, cheers exploded all around them while Shinra groaned and shook his head. "My goggles fogged up." He claimed but no one really listened to him. Zell and Rikku were jumping up and down with happiness while Irvine clapped a smirking Squall on the back and congratulating him.

"And the winner of the first Sphere Break Tournament is……" Shelinda stated as she stood in front of her camsphere man and motioned to Rin standing on the stairs with Squall. "SeeD Commander Squall Leonhart! Huh? What's a SeeD? Oh! Never mind that!" She then motioned to Rin as he picked up the dress sphere from the pedestal. "Presenting the award is our sponsor, Lord Rin!" She announced and cheers broke out. Rin just held out the sphere to the Dark Commander, who lazily took it from him. "Luhknydimydeuhc." The Al Bhed man told him. Squall only nodded to the man before turning to look at the others.

Not too long later, the Gullwings and the SeeDs returned to the airship and prepared their Squall had given Yuna the dress sphere, stating that he really didn't have any use for it. Then they prepared for their next destination, deciding to head over to the Mushroom Rock Road, much to Zell's disgust. He knew that they were about to visit with that Al Bhed guy that he really did not like, Gippal. However, as soon as they got there, there were no fiends in sight. It was odd enough, especially when Buddy had said that there had a flood of fiends coming out of the temples.

The six teens walked straight up to where Yaibal was speaking to several Youth League members but he turned towards them as they approached. Yuna waved at him and gave him a wave. "Hi! Gullwings here. Where are the fiends?" She asked, looking around.

Yaibal smiled but shook his head. "No need for concern, Lady Yuna! Everything's under control. The fiends got close to our headquarters, but thankfully no further. The Al Bhed from Djose assisted us in fighting them off." He told them.

Rikku looked somewhat brightened while Zell growled in frustration. "So, Gippal was here?" She asked.

Yaibal just nodded as he shifted his weight. "Yes. His group also brought us these machina." He then frowned as he tilted his head. "You know, he said something which still strikes me as sort of odd. He told us not to depend on you so much, Lady Yuna." He told the surprised Summoner.

Zell ground his teeth together and balled up his fists so tight that it cracked his knuckles. He wasn't exactly the happiest person when around Gippal. "What is that guy's deal?! Does he have something against us, or is it me?" He growled. But most of everyone ignored him. Rikku just jabbed him in the side with her finger though, giving him a warning look. "Zell!" She hissed at him.

"Me?" Yuna asked with confusion.

Yaibal just nodded as he glanced nervously at the blonde martial artist. He didn't seem to like that angry glint in his eyes. "Uh…." He shook his head as he looked back at Yuna. "He said we need to rely on our strength to defend Spira through the coming age." He told them. He cringed a little when Zell growled again. Zell, however, got slapped over the head by Irvine, while Squall gave him a warning look. "Ow." The blonde groaned rubbing his head.

Just then, Lucil walked right up to them, looking somewhat worried about something. She was biting her lip with worry but then sighed as she approached Yuna. "Lady Yuna, if I may interrupt. There is something I would like to ask you." She said. Yuna only nodded as she folded her arms behind her back. "Sure. What's wrong?" She asked with concern.

Lucil only sighed as she shifted her weight. "As you are probably aware, we have not heard from Meyvn Nooj, our leader, in some time. Lady Yuna, have you no information of his whereabouts?" She asked, with worry.

Yuna shook her head as she gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. But we don't know anymore than you do." She told her. Lucil just sighed as she looked away. She definitely didn't like this disappearance very much. Yuna bit her lip before moving forward and resting her hand on Lucil's arm. "If we see him, we'll tell him to return here." She tried to reassure the captain. Lucil just nodded with a grateful smile on her face. "Thank you so much, Lady Yuna." She told her.

Then the six teens made their way down the road towards the Djose Temple. They figured they better ask Gippal about Nooj's disappearance. They figured that he might know. Zell was not happy at all that they were going to go talk to him. He was grounding his teeth and the others heard him. Yuna looked rather hesitant about even going near Gippal. She knew about Zell's temper and had seen it. She was starting to worry for Gippal's welfare now. But as they approached the temple where Gippal was talking with a few Al Bhed, Squall grabbed Zell's arm and gave him a look of warning. "Zell, stand down. You are not to engage with Gippal at all. Do I make myself clear?" He muttered sternly. Zell gave him a forlorn look but nodded as he tried very hard to keep his cool. It wasn't easy though.

Especially when Gippal looked over before grinning directly at Rikku. His eyes had flickered over to Zell but he didn't pay him any attention. Instead, he just a hand to Rikku in greeting. "Hey! It's Cid's little girl!" He said brightly while reaching over and lightly shoving her head.

Zell growled with his arms tightly wrapped around his chest while Rikku groaned and gave Gippal an annoyed look. "I have a name….." She whined.

Yuna just smiled as she glanced at Gippal. "You seem close." She said, in a teasing way, though it only made Zell grind his teeth loudly.

Gippal, on the other hand, just grinned and folded his arms. He had a look of daring on his face, as if he was about to do something that might have been rather risky. But then again, he did seem the type to take risks. "We made quite the couple." He said winking at Rikku, who looked horrified. She knew that was going to be enough to unhinge Zell. "Fryd yna oui cyokehk?!" She demanded.

Though, it was a little late because Zell nearly snapped.

Eyes burning and a wave of heat coming off of him, the blonde Martial Artist let out a yell of rage, making Yuna and Rikku cringe as they look at Zell with worry and nervousness. Paine just sighed and rolled her eyes as she folded her arms and shifted her weight. Zell started to lunge at Gippal, ready to cause him a lot of pain when a yellow glow fell around him and a transparent clock appeared right before him. As soon as it had, Zell's body froze in mid-lunge, a fist rose to fly at the blonde Al Bhed in front of him. He had been Stopped by Squall, who was giving Gippal a look of warning. "If I were you, I'd stop coaxing him to beat the hell out of you. He's got a nasty temper as it is. And once he starts swinging his fist, it's hard to stop him without using a Stop spell." He warned

Gippal just chuckled as if he found it hilarious while Rikku reached over and slugged him in the side, making him wince. He groaned a little but rubbed where she slugged him, still laughing. "Rikku's always good for a laugh." He then shrugged. "If you're here about digging, this isn't the best time." He told them, folding his arms.

"Well, there were fiends here too, right? Want us to clean up for you?" Rikku asked, still a little sour that her old friend had ticked off her boyfriend.

Gippal made a snort as he looked everyone over, though he seemed amused that Zell had been Stopped but a warning poke came from Rikku so he decided not to tease the blonde martial artist. "Fiend hunting? What, you guys give up the sphere gig?" He asked, with amusement.

Yuna shook her head and shrugged at the same time as she glanced over at Zell who was still Stopped but then looked back at Gippal. She bit her lip for a moment then shook her head again. "Temporarily. Right now we're helping people out." She then offered Gippal an innocent smile. "Maybe….you'd like to hire us?" She asked, in a suggestive way.

The Blonde Al Bhed Leader paused for a short moment before snorting and turning away. He didn't seem interested at all. "Nope. You already took care of Sin. We can't go running to you every time we get into trouble." He then turned back around to face the Former High Summoner and shrugged. "Hmph. I watch my own back." He told her.

"Show off!" Rikku said dryly.

Yuna just smiled as she shook her head and turned slightly away from Gippal as he turned around and started to walk back towards the temple. "Well, be careful." She called after him.

Gippal just waved a hand over his shoulder, pausing as another Al Bhed walked up to him. "Yeah. You too." He then glanced over at Zell, when Squall freed him, smiling when the Martial Artist started growling and looking extremely angry. He was amused by the other blonde. Then without another word, he walked away with the other Al Bhed. Zell just glared after him, earning a poke in the side by Rikku. She was giving him a daring look as if warning him not to start anything. "Don't even." She said dryly as she grabbed his hand and dragged him after the others.

The next place they went to was Guadosalam. They had figured that they better check with Leblanc, since Nooj had vanished. They had wondered if that was where he was hiding out at. If he was there, then they could ask him if he knew where Baralai was at then. Zell was really worried about the white haired Leader after how he had knocked him out. He hoped that the guy wasn't hurting too bad. He knew that he was going to be aching a little while.

However, when they got there, they found that things were a little different than they had hoped. The Gullwings and the SeeDs went straight to the living room of the Chateau, figuring that there was where their rivals were at, but Ormi and Logos were the only ones there. They didn't even notice the six approaching them, and they were acting kind of weird.

"Leblanc, there's nothing to worry about." Ormi said, trying to talk in a very calm voice.

Logos snorted before shaking his head as he looked at his large friend. He didn't seem satisfied with something at all. "Not even close." He told the large shield wielder. Ormi just rolled his eyes and shifted his weight. He wasn't happy with what the tall thin man said but still. "Let's see you do it then." He growled. Logo rolled his own eyes before clearing his throat and lifting his head higher. "Leblanc, there's nothing to worry about." He said, in a very low and scratchy voice. Ormi just burst into loud laughter and slapped his knees. "Bwahahahaha!! Look who's talking!" He laughed.

Zell and Irvine exchanged raised eyebrow looks while the girls crinkled their noses. They weren't sure what these two idiots were up to now, but they were sure making grand fools out of their selves. Actually, they sounded like they were trying to imitate someone. So with a shrug, Yuna moved closer, getting the two's attention. "What are you doing?" She asked, tilting her head.

Logos sighed as he shifted his weight and placed a glove clad hand onto his thin waist. "The boss has been rather…depressed since Nooj went missing." He told them.

Ormi nodded in agreement as he slouched forward a little. "We wants to comfort her, see?" He added.

Zell sighed at the sound of that. So obviously, Nooj wasn't there either. It must have been pretty hard on Leblanc since he vanished then. Irvine just shook his head as he tilted his hat back a little. "Well, so much for asking Nooj anything." He grumbled.

Rikku on the other hand just looked a little bright eyed. "Oh, was that suppose to be Nooj?" She asked, as if she didn't hear the cowboy.

Logos made a face as he leaned away from her a little. He looked a little put out on the way that Rikku had said that. "That bad, was it?" He asked and sighed with Ormi when did, slouching a little. Pain just made a face as she placed a hand onto her waist. "Even if you did sound like Nooj, do you think it would actually help?" She asked skeptically. Both Logos and Ormi looked somewhat offended that she would even think otherwise. "It would!" They both piped up. Paine only rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Come on. Let's go see her. Maybe if a little threat of competition would help bring her back to her sassy self." Irvine said with a shrug. The others nodded and headed right up stairs.

However, when they entered the room, they found Leblanc sitting on her bed, looking horrible. She was sitting at the edge of the bed, looking sadly down at the floor. So Ormi and Logos had had a point. She looked extremely depressed. She merely glanced at the six in her room before turning away and leaning against her bed frame. "Leave me alone." She told them in a low voice. The six young adults just glanced at one another before shaking their heads. They couldn't believe this woman. They never would have guessed she would have fallen this far. Rikku decided to give it a try to cheer her up. "Don't you want to hunt some spheres? The Gullwings are gonna get all of the spheres in Spira, you know?" She asked in a perky voice.

Leblanc just gave her a wearily look before shaking her head. "Fine by me. There's no point in chasing after spheres if my Noojie-Woojie isn't there to smile." She said with a very sad and depressed sigh. "What difference does it make?"

"You're a mess." Paine said, just being honest.

Leblanc wasn't phased by her insult at all though. She didn't seem to care at all. Instead, she just laid onto her side on her bed and waved a hand at her. "Say whatever you want." She told them, before waving them away. She wanted to be alone now.

So with a sigh, the six teens just shook their heads before heading on back down to the living room where the two goons were waiting. They all shook their heads, telling them that it hadn't worked. With a sigh, they just stood around the room, trying to think of a way to help Leblanc. Zell started pacing in the room, trying to think of anything. He didn't like Leblanc but the way she was acting, it kind of reminded him right after he had returned to Gaia, when Tidus faded into nothing after fighting Yu Yevon.

"Hey. What if we showed her a sphere of Nooj?" Ormi asked.

Everyone looked at one another before shrugging. Irvine just nodded as he tilted his head to the side. "That might work." He announced.

"Why ask us? Go for it." Paine said impatiently.

Logos then thought of something and he looked rather excited. He just clicked his fingers and looked around the room at everyone. "Of course! That sphere!" He said getting all of their attention. "We took one in Bevelle." His dark eyes flickered over to Yuna, who looked somewhat interested. "Care to watch it?"

Yuna just tilted her head innocently, while shrugging. "What's on it?" She asked.

Logos just shook his head as he motioned to the secret passage way into the basement. "We haven't looked yet. Meet us in our room. We'll have a little screening!" He told them excitedly.

The six Gullwings and SeeDs just glanced at one another before shrugging. They figured it was okay. They wanted to see if there was anything interesting on the sphere anyway. The only things they had to do was head to the temples and fight some fiends, though that was something they should have probably jumped too right away. The only thing that was holding them back was the idea of Nooj and Baralai missing. It was causing a huge mess in Spira.

So with a shrug, the six headed down the corridor into the basement. They wandered for a little while until they found a door into a bedroom. They didn't have to wait too long when Logos and Ormi followed them into the room. The tall thin man just moved around the room, looking through his things before pulling out a sphere. "Let's see. This should be it." He said then held it up as everyone crowded around him. He activated it and everyone saw that it was in the gaol room. The sphere camera had been looking around the room before training on Yuna's backside.

"What's this?" Yuna asked, somewhat alarmed and horrified that the sphere was getting closer and was trained on her butt.

There was a cracking noise, making a few glance over at Zell, who had his fists tightly clenched and he was glaring at Logos. He didn't like the idea of some tall pervert like Logos staring at one of his best friends like that. Logos seemed to have gotten the message and cleared his throat. "Ormi shot this. Not me." He said a little quickly.

It was right at the second that on the sphere, Ormi walked right past the camera and Yuna. That just caused Zell to glare even harder at Logos, who was now sweating as he looked nervously. Paine just rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "So I see." She remarked.

"Heh…..This must be a dud." Logos said nervously as he quickly shut the sphere off and looked for another sphere. Rikku was amused though, while her cousin was looking horrified about the recording. "Who you calling a dud?!" She asked with amusement.

But Logos ignored her as he pulled out another sphere and activated it. This one was another shot in the gaol room. And it was one that Ormi had shot because Logos was off looking somewhere else. But something caught everyone's eye. Something that was on the far side of the room.

"There's someone there!" Yuna said pointing.

Everyone stiffened and moved a little closer to see better. Rikku was looking frantically all over the sphere, trying to see where Yuna was looking. "Really? Where, where?" She asked, bouncing a little. Zell just frowned as his eyes squinted a little when he noticed someone too.

"I'll zoom in." Logos told them and pressed a button on the side of the Sphere.

The sphere shot slowly moved forward until they could see someone standing on a platform on the other side of the room. To their surprise, it looked like Nooj. Zell, Squall and Irvine looked sharply at each other while Rikku gasped, covering her mouth. "It's Nooj!" She cried out. Then the sphere recording ended. "What was he doing there?!"

No one answered for a moment as they glanced at one another. They couldn't answer that question. Nor did any one of them like it. Squall had a very suspicious look on his face as he looked away thoughtfully. He and the other two SeeDs just looked even more uneased about the entire situation. This just proved that Nooj was up to something. And because they didn't trust him from the beginning, this just made them a little more uneasy about him. "Man, he's really starting to dig his own grave." Irvine said rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't like it." Paine voiced her opinion, getting everyone to look at her curiously. "All these secrets. It's just one thing after another."

Slowly Squall nodded as he dipped his head lower and folded his arms over his chest. His eyes had gone uneasily dark and that was a look that Zell didn't like. He knew when the Dark Commander got a look like that, he was thinking about taking some drastic measures. "He's probably the one who's taken Vegnagun then. Before, when we gave him the so called 'awsome' sphere, he didn't have a clue where Vegnagun was." He said darkly.

Zell sighed as his own eyes narrowed and he looked away. "And we're the ones who showed him right where it was." He announced.

Logos just sighed before shaking his head. "If I may. You're free to do as you please, but I'd prefer you not to mention this to the boss." He told her.

Everyone looked at him with curiousity but it was Rikku who voiced their thoughts. "Why not?" She asked, tilting her blonde head to the side.

Logos and Ormi both shook their heads, not liking it at all. They seemed to guessed what might have happened if they did show Leblanc that sphere of Nooj. "Whatever this Vegnagun thing is, it's clearly dangerous. Nothing the likes of we sphere hunters have any business fooling around with. But if the boss knew Nooj were involved," Logos sighed as he looked somewhat pained. "Well, there'd be no stopping her. If anything were to happen to her……" He paused.

A few of the six teens gave the two goons a look of pity. They figured they knew what he was trying to say. They really cared for their boss, and wished and hoped that nothing would happen to her. Rikku leaned against Zell, who wrapped an arm her to keep her from falling over. "You guys got it rough, don't you?" She asked, softly.

"If only she noticed." Logos said with a sigh as he gave them the two spheres, not caring if they had it.

Yuna, however, noticed another one on a shelf. She looked at it curiously before turning to Logos, pointing at it. "Is this one from Bevelle, too?" She asked, getting everyone's attention. Rikku sniggered at one of her weird thoughts as she looked slyly at Logos. "Ooh, been taking naughty pictures again?" She asked in a flirty voice, though her arm went around Zell's waist, resting on his other thigh. Just by the way she said that made him blush. He felt a wave of pleasure of the way she said it roll over him.

Logos, however, wasn't amused at all. He just gave her a look of annoyance before shaking his head as he walked over to the sphere and picked it up. "I didn't shoot this one. I found it." He told her before activating it so they could watch it. However, the picture on it was extremely old. "The image is badly deteriorated. Must be old."

But no one was listening. Zell's eyes widened and his pleasure of thinking about Rikku was gone immediately when he saw was on the sphere. He even heard the sharp intakes of breath of the others when they saw a large cage with a familiar blonde man standing next to the bars.

"_Bah! The only reason the war's dragging on is because Zanarkand refuses to surrender." _Said a voice that none of them recognized.

The blonde man turned around and looked directly at the camera sphere trained on him. They couldn't see his face for it was blurry but it sure looked like Tidus. He was just wearing different clothes like before. _"You're wrong! If you'd stop attacking, there wouldn't be a war!" _He growled at the guard.

"_Heh! We're not falling for that!" _The guard remarked.

The blonde man just dipped his head lower as he grabbed the bars of his cell and leaned against the cool metal. _"Someday….."_ His voice was dangerously low. It almost made Zell shudder to think that it might have been Tidus speaking. That was the voice a threat. _"….Your precious weapons will end up destroying you." _The blonde finished before he turned away from the bars and sank down onto the cage floor. The sphere then ended.

"He's probably referring to the Machina War of a thousand years past." Came an ancient voice, making all of them jump and whirl around.

Standing in the door way was a familiar old man that they knew. It was the old scholar, Maechen. Zell remembered him very well. He remembered how he was an old storyteller, always explaining tales of history in Spira. He had respected the old man in a certain way, if only his voice wasn't so boring. Logos just growled as he put the sphere down and touched one of his guns. He didn't look amused that this old man was there. "When did you sneak in, old man?" He asked, warningly.

Maechen just shook his aged head as he moved closer, looking somewhat amused. "You can't expect me to remember everything that happens." He paused to look right at Yuna and Zell though. "I must admit, the likeness is positively uncanny." He told them. And the two knew exactly who he was talking about. He was referring to Tidus. Yuna swallowed hard as she moved closer and played with her fingers. "It can't really be him….can it?" She asked, uneasily.

The old man just shook his head as he went over to a near by chair and sat down. "I'm afraid not. After all, that sphere was recorded a thousand years ago." He told her.

Yuna sighed softly as she lowered her head and looked away. She knew, and everyone knew, that the old man had a point. It couldn't have been Tidus then. After all, he actually only existed for a short time. "Right….of course."

"Would you like to hear more?" Maechen asked, referring to one of his little stories.

Yuna and the others glanced at one another before they shrugged and nodded. They figured that this was going to be a story that they needed to get comfortable with. After all, his stories were somewhat boring. So everyone sat down somewhere, or leaned against the walls to listen to the old man.

"Lady Yuna," Maechen began when everyone was comfortable. "A rumor has been going around of late. Perhaps you've heard it. They say that High Summoner Yuna was accompanied by a Guardian from of all places, Zanarkand." Everyone glanced at one another, though Zell lowered his head as he let Rikku lean against him. "Oh, yes. That young man raised quite a few eyebrows at the Blitzball Tournament in Luca. I spoke to him myself on a number of occasions. I could sense that he belonged to another world." The old man's old eyes flickered over to Zell, who met his eyes. "Much like you, young man. You and those two. I can sense that you're not exactly from around here either. You have……an interesting signature." The three SeeDs just glanced at one another before looking at the three girls. Logos and Ormi just frowned as they glanced at one another. The old man, however, shook his head. "That he should look so much like the man in that sphere cannot be a mere coincidence, I should think." Maechen explained.

Yuna just looked away at the sphere resting on the bookshelf. "There's a connection." She said, making it sound more like a hint of a question.

Maechen just nodded as he folded his hands together, looking around the room, as if looking for Tidus. He seemed to have thought that the blonde Blitzer might have been there. "There is. I would very much like the chance to ask him, and clear this matter up once and for all." He told them.

Yuna and Zell looked right at each other before they lowered their eyes. They knew that it would be hard for the old man to talk to their friend. "But……he's gone." Yuna said sadly as she looked down at the ground. "Just like the fayth said. 'Our dream will vanish.'" She told him.

The old man's eyes narrowed a little as he took that into thought. "A dream of the fayth? Is that right……" He paused for a moment before his eyes lit up as if he though of something very important. "Oh, my!" He suddenly said, making all look up with interest.

"What is it?" Rikku asked as she sat up straighter.

Maechen sighed as he reached up and rubbed his long white beard before shaking his head. "I had something on the tip of my tongue. But then it slipped away…something very important. Frustrating." He said, sounding frustrated as he stood up. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to think on it a little more. Until next time, Lady Yuna." He then turned away, starting to walk towards the door. But he stopped and turned back to her, looking directly at the Former Summoner. "We are all connected. There may yet be a way to reunite with those who have gone." He told her, and the others.

Immediately, Yuna shot to her feet and she wasn't the only one. Zell quickly stood up, his eyes very bright with hope. Did the old man just say what he thought he said? "What?" Both he and Yuna asked, aburtly.

"Watch what you say." Paine warned the old man, folding her arms.

Maechen just sighed as he waved a hand towards Yuna and Zell, whose hopeful eyes were still on him. "Forgive me. Consider it the ramblings of an old man." He told them before he walked right out of the room.

Zell had started towards the door, as if to follow the old man and demand the answers from him. He wanted to know what he had meant. Was there seriously a way of being reunited with Tidus then? He had to know. But as he stepped out, looking around, he found that Maechen was gone. So with a sigh, he turned back to the others and lowered his head. He felt disappointed. 'Curse that old fart. Why'd he have to go say something like that and get my hopes up?' The blonde martial artist thought. He blinked out of his thoughts when Rikku moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. He faintly smiled when he saw that everyone was looking at him a little sympathetically. "Sorry, guys. I just thought…..." He muttered.

Squall shook his head as he moved closer and placed a hand onto his blonde friend's shoulder. "Don't, Zell. We know. Maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe there is a way you can see Tidus again. But we'll just have to wait and see." He said quietly.

Yuna nodded as she tried to smile, though it was forced. She looked at Logos and Ormi, who was still somewhat thoughtful. "We'll keep an eye out for Nooj. You just take care of Leblanc, okay?" She asked, getting a nod from the two. She then looked at the others. "Let's go. We've got Spira to look after."

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Al Bhed Translation:

E mega ed!!-I like it!!

Rinno ib!!-Hurry up!!

Famlusa, ajanouha.-Welcome, everyone.

Kuut milg du oui!-Good luck to you!

Luhkyndimydeuhc-Congraulations

Fryd yna oui cyokehk?!-What are you saying?!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or Final Fantasy X/X-2 or any of its characters, though I really wouldn't mind if I did and if I did.......I would be going out with Seifer!!! He's a bad boy hottie!!!**

**Author's Note: I also wish to apologize to many of the readers for taking so long to update this story. I've had a bad case of writer's block on this story, due to the fact that my Final Fantasy X-2 game was stolen and I was using it to write this entire thing. Plus I've been working on several different projects at the same time. Not really a smart thing to do but hey, I can't help it. **

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Returning to the Celsius, everyone was pondering over the idea of where they wanted to go next. There were too many places that needed their help and with fiends flowing out of the temples, there only so many places that they could go at a time. That is until they got an emergency distress call from the Calm Lands.

So it was there they decided to go to.

Arriving to the Calm Lands and heading straight to the Cave of the Stolen Fayth, Yuna, Zell and their crew suddenly found their selves surrounded by frantic people. There were quite a few just lying around on the ground, panting or groaning because they were hurt from wounds inflicted by the fiends. Zell couldn't help it but hurry forward and start gather up his Cure spells and start healing people. Squall and Irvine eventually joined in while the girls went to talk to the people.

"Fiends! From deep in cave!" A man quickly jumped into an explanation.

Another nodded as he pointed towards the large mouth. "There are still some people trapped inside the cave! There's nothing we can do to help them! Please, help them, Lady Yuna! We beg of you!"

Frowning, Zell glanced over his shoulder at the people and then Yuna. He could tell just by looking at her that she fighting herself to decide. He knew very well that she had mixed feelings about helping people that turned places like this into a tourist attraction. And in the Martial Artist's opinion, he felt the same. He wanted to help the people, but in truth, it was their own fault for getting into trouble like this. From what he had gathered from his first trip into this cave, there had always been fiends in the cave. Wouldn't these people have learned that the Cave of the Stolen Fayth would have not been a good place to make into a tourist attraction?

Still, he was SeeD and Yuna was the High Summoner, and they both had made a promise to protect the people of Spira, even if they got their selves into a major mess like this. So Zell wasn't surprised when Yuna nodded as she placed a hand onto her waist.

"All right, we'll help." She told everyone.

There was a huge cloud of sighs all around them as the people let it out as they bowed the prayer gesture towards all of them. "You are most kind, Lady Yuna!" An old woman said as she took Yuna's hand, giving it a gentle kiss, much to the young teen's embarrassment. Especially when Rikku and Zell started snickering.

So while the team of six fighters went into cave to save people, Buddy and Brother were left negotiating a fee.

"All right, so how are we going to do this?" Rikku asked as she began rubbing her arms from the chill she was feeling. She only smiled when Zell wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him before they looked back at Yuna.

Yuna groaned a little as she scratched her head. She had no idea of how they were going to do this at all. So with a light smile, Zell looked over at Squall, meeting his eyes and giving a light shrug. It was all he needed to do when asking for him to take over. So with a nod, Squall put on his commander mode, looking very serious. "All right. Here's an idea." He said, catching everyone's attention. "We should probably split up. Irvine and I don't know this cave too well so we might end up getting lost. So it'll be better if we're with one of you who know this cave. So why don't we split up into three groups; two each team. Yuna," He looked to the brunette, probably intimidating her just a little because of how serious he was. "Would you mind taking Irvine with you? If I put him with Paine, she might just kill him."

"Gee, thanks, Squall." Irvine said, sounding very unimpressed, even though he knew it was probably true.

Both Zell and Rikku snickering while Paine rolled her eyes and nodded. She was probably agreeing with him. Yuna, however, nodded as she glanced at the tall cowboy. "All right." She told the Commander.

Squall nodded right back at her before looking between the other three, frowning a little as he thought about it. He then looked right at Zell, who was grinning as he put his arm around Rikku, who smiled right back. Sighing only slightly, Squall folded his arms. "Zell, if you don't mind, I'm going to put you with Paine." He ignored the pout that his friend and teammate was giving him as he dropped his arm down. "It will even the teams out, Zell. Besides, who knows what you two will do in the dark." He stated.

Zell and Rikku's flushed red as they shot each other wide-eyed looks while Yuna blushed herself covered her mouth. Paine only rolled her eyes and shifted her weight. "I guess I'm with the loud mouth then." She remarked dryly.

"Hey!" Zell exclaimed unidentified.

Squall's lips merely curved only a little as he looked over at Paine with a shrug. "If you don't mind. Zell is really a good fighter and he'll watch your back. Besides, I think we all could use some time to get to know one another. Get used to each other's fighting skills so we can become a better team." He said quietly.

"Well, that makes sense." Rikku remarked as she placed her fists onto her waist before looking up at Zell, who slowly smiled and nodded. "I guess I could use this time to getting to know Squall a little better. Zell's told me all about you but I think it'd be better to find out for myself."

One by one, everyone nodded before they paired up with their teammate. With only a nod to each other, they began moving into different directions of the cavern and searching for the people trapped within the darkness. Zell's time with Paine was pretty quiet though. She wasn't much of a talker, even though he was a very big talker. He was starting to curse his best friend for putting him with her. Especially when he tried to start a conversation with her and all she did was give him a very annoyed look. He eventually came up with the conclusion that Paine was the female version of Squall. For trying to talk to her was like talking to a wall.

Finally after searching, the two found a bunch of people huddled with one another, trapped by snarling fiend. They were screaming and crying for help while the monster was attempting to corner them and eat them. Gritting his teeth, Zell tightened his gloves before punching his fists together hard. "Oh, hell no! I'm not about to let some freaky rock monster eat kids!" He exclaimed before rushing forward with Paine right behind him. She wasn't amused with his sudden jumping into danger but she wasn't going to voice it. It only took a hard punch to the rock fiend's stone hide and a hard slash through to kill it. Neither the Martial Artist nor the Swordswoman congratulated each other as they just motioned for everyone to follow them to the entrance of the cave, where the others had a large group of people thanking all of them and rewarding them with gifts.

"According to one of the people outside, there were only about fifteen people trapped." Squall began explaining as they watched the survivors hurrying out to their families. "Yuna and Irvine found about six people. Rikku and I found four. That makes ten all together. And then the four that Zell and Paine found makes fourteen."

"Which means there's still one person left unaccounted for." Zell said, almost just as serious as Squall was looking right now. He was praying that the last person was okay. He really hoped it wasn't a child that was in trouble. "We better hurry and find them before some fiend does."

Yuna nodded before she turned and began running through the cavern. The others were quick to follow, not even splitting up this time. With a Flare spell in Squall's hand, it was easier to see in each corner of the cavern that they came to. But still, they couldn't find the last trapped tourist. They eventually had to go deeper within the cave until they reached the deepest part of the cavern, which Zell remembered fully well. This had been where they fought Lulu's former Guardian, who had been unsent.

"Huh? We've searched this entire place! Where is that last tourist guy?!" Rikku whined as she bent over a little from weariness.

No one knew exactly how to answer that. They could only feel worried about what might have happened to the last trapped tourist. And it was Irvine who had to ask what was on everyone's mind. "You don't think he'd gotten eaten, do ya?" He asked.

Yuna curled a hand under her chin, a look of guilt starting to swim within her eyes. It was obvious that was what she feared and it probably would haunt her for not being able to save the last person. "I really hope not." She said, her voice already full of sadness. "I don't think I'd ever forgive myself......."

"AHHHHH! Help me!! Someone!! Please don't hurt me!!"

All six young adults stiffened before whirling around and looking at the entrance of the Fayth, which was where the plea-full screams were coming from. Even Zell's eyes had to widen to even imagine that the last tourist was trapped within the Fayth's chamber. It was like insulting the Summons they had ever so befriended two years ago, by letting fiends overwhelm that place. But, no one really even voiced their opinions on the matter as they quickly rushed through former opening into the chamber.

And it was there, the Gullwings and the SeeDs froze with alarm.

The last tourist was crumpled to the ground, covering his head with his arms to shield himself from any attack that the large fiend standing over him may do. He didn't look entirely hurt, just terrified. And who could blame him when the large fiend standing over him was holding a long and clearly very sharp katana, ready to bring it down and kill the man. There was a dog like fiend right next to him, barking and snarling at the intruders when they came in.

Either way, Zell had to freeze much like Yuna and Rikku had, looking on the two with horror and disbelief. They all recognized this fiend and its pet monster mutt.

"Another one?!" Rikku gasped covering her mouth with her hands.

"What is that?!" Irvine asked, almost just as alarmed as the others were as he pulled out his Exterior shotgun and trained it onto the monster dog, which was inching closer to them, looking for an opening to attack them.

Zell slowly shook his head as he stepped back only once, his chest heaving from rushed breathing. "Yo-Yojimbo! That's one of the Aeons that Yuna used in the final battle against Yu Yevon!" He said, in disbelief. He couldn't believe this was happening! It was just like what happened with Bahamut! Yojimbo had turned evil! He remembered very well that it hadn't been too easy getting this one in the first place. He hadn't been in the room with Yuna or even Tidus when they went to get this Aeon but according them, Yojimbo only worked with them for profit. He had taken a great deal of money from them at the time, but it had been worth it. Zell hadn't seen much of what Yojimbo could do other than a few times and against them. But he had been one very powerful Aeon to use.

However, Yojimbo wasn't even paying attention to them. His attention was only on the cowering tourist as he raised his katana and started to bring it down to kill him. Both Yuna and Rikku gave out sharp gasps as they stepped forward, wanting to do something but they knew they'd be too late.

But it was Squall who moved quickly forward, yanking out his Lionheart and thrusting it upward, letting the offending katana strike against it with a loud clang. Both Zell and Irvine quickly rushed forward and joined him, glaring up at the former Aeon. They didn't even look behind them at the startled tourist when he looked up at them.

"Get out of here!" was all that Irvine shouted at him from over his shoulder. "Just wait outside of the chamber and then we'll take you out!"

Scampering away, the tourist just did that, leaving the SeeDs and Gullwings to take care of Yojimbo. Zell cracked his knuckles as he snapped into his fighting stance, glaring up at the large Aeon. He didn't want to do this that was for sure. But if they didn't, things might get worst. Especially with this guy. "Guys, be careful! This guy is pretty serious work and his dog isn't a good one either!" He warned Squall and Irvine, who nodded as they quickly spread out all around the giant swordsman.

Yuna was still staring up at Yojimbo with almost painful before she looked over at Paine when she lightly touched her shoulder, looking a little concerned but nodding towards the Aeon. With a sigh, the High Summoner nodded before she took out her twin handguns and aimed them. "Why is this happening?" She simply asked.

At once, all of them began their attacks, shooting and slicing at the huge Aeon. They even had to dodge the dog, who was not a sweet mutt at all. It even got a hold of Zell's leg, biting him hard before he punched it across the head. It didn't even yelp after getting hit; only snarled as it leapt back.

"Renozuken!" Squall yelled as he rushed forward and began slashing the hell out Yojimbo before having to jump back when his sharp katana nearly slashed him.

"Jeeze! This guy is pretty strong! What's with him?! The last time we ended up fighting someone this strong it was either Odin or Adel!" Irvine yelped as he dodged the dog's bite before shooting at it with Fast Ammo.

Zell's eyes flashed a little as he saw Yojimbo's head come up a little, almost acknowledging what Irvine said. He could have sworn that he saw the Aeon's own eyes flashed before he reached and grabbed his other katana and slashing it at the cowboy. Gritting his teeth, the Martial Artist lunged forward and sent a powerful kick right into the swordsman's side, catching him off guard. It wasn't enough when the Aeon lashed out with his other hand and smacked him across the chamber.

"Zell!" Rikku gasped before she quickly rushed over to join him.

However, Yojimbo decided to take that distraction to his advantage by flicking his wrist and revealing several blades. He didn't even pay mind to Squall and Paine as they rushed at him with their swords in hand but throw them at Rikku. His eyes flashing, Zell was quickly on his feet, grabbing at Rikku and shoving her behind him to protect her. He wasn't going to let this Aeon hurt his girl.

Suddenly, there was a crack of thunder and powerful gust of wind exploding within the room, nearly knocking everyone off their feet with yelps of surprise. Even Zell and Rikku was knocked off their feet as the gust of wind exploded right between them and Yojimbo, throwing them to the ground.

And to mostly the SeeDs' surprise, they saw a sudden flash of red within the wind before something very big slashed out one of his four swords, deflecting the throwing blades into the chamber wall.

"What the hell?!" Paine was the one to exclaim as she pushed herself to sitting up.

The one to interfere in Zell and Rikku's protection was a huge, red cloaked man that none of the girls recognized, yet the SeeDs did. He was a giant compared to them, of course. Yet no one could see past the large red cloak that he wore, only the black-garbed hands coming from within as it held up a large sharp blade. Zell just could not believe his eyes and neither could Squall and Irvine as they looked up at their giant protector. They knew this Summon very well, though he was not much of a summon. He never came when they called for him. He only came when he saw fit to. But they had not been expecting him to cross dimensions to Spira to protect them. They hadn't thought he would.

"Gilgamesh! What the hell is he doing here?!" Irvine gasped as he quickly got to his feet before holding out a hand to Paine beside him, who hesitated to taking it before allowing him to help her up.

"What is that?!" Rikku gasped as she let Zell pull her to her feet next to him.

Zell only shook his head as he watched the giant face Yojimbo, one of his four swords in hand. He recognized the blade, nonetheless. It was the Summon King's blade, Odin's sword, the Zantetsuken. "Damn. Gilgamesh means business if he's going to use that sword." He murmured.

The six young adults just watched as their red defender gave a low growl before lashing out the long blade and sliced through wind at the Aeon's dog. There was loud yipe from the dog as it went sailing backwards, bursting into pyreflies. It got Yojimbo's attention either way. He jerked his head around to look where his dog was destroyed, giving Gilgamesh the chance to slice at him next. The Zantetsuken sword slashed through the Aeon's armor, causing him to let out a rather animalistic growl before he fell to one knee and burst into pyreflies.

Soon it grew quiet, with only a gentle hum within the room. The red giant remained standing there, still posed in a threatening stance before turning with a sharp jerk to look down at the SeeDs, not even sparing a glance at the girls. Then he started to turn with visible winds starting to twirl around him announcing his departure.

"Gilgamesh!" Squall quickly called out, stepping forward and holding out a hand as if to stop the giant. He knew there was really no way to stopping him from leaving. Like Zell and Irvine, he knew that this Summon came and went whenever he wanted without really saying anything.

But to the three SeeDs' surprise, the red giant stopped from leaving, just standing there for a moment before turning back to face them. It took the three by surprise that he was actually staying and listening to them. He never did that before but he sure as well was doing it now. Gilgamesh turned and looked down at Squall with his pure white eyes gleaming from under the hooded cloak he wore, meeting the dark commander's eyes. But he remained.

For a long few moments, Squall didn't say anything as he just had a little bit of a stare down with Gilgamesh before he straightened and lowered his hand. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?" He asked, calmly.

The red giant didn't do anything but stare at Squall before turning slightly to look where Yojimbo had been defeated. He still didn't say anything for the longest time before turning his head back with a jerk. **"I sensed my brother's troubled spirit."** A powerful, booming voiced echoed from under the cloak, startling everyone. It wasn't every day that the three SeeDs got to hear it from this guy.

"You're brother?" Irvine asked, frowning in bewilderment.

The giant turned his eerie white eyes onto the cowboy next before dipping his head once into a nod. **"In this world, this dimension, Odin goes by the name of Yojimbo." **He remarked in his booming voice.

Zell slowly shook his head as he continued to stare up at Gilgamesh, still alarmed by his very presence but more or less, to even learn that Yojimbo was Odin. "What?! Odin......! Yo-Yojimbo.....is Odin?! But....I thought he was.....I thought Odin was destroyed?! How can he be.....!" He was asking, sharing an alarmed glance with Rikku.

Gilgamesh shook his head once as he grabbed a piece of his cloak and wrapped it tighter around his huge, bulky form. **"You cannot destroy a spirit, only the physical form it has taken. Odin's spirit escaped from your world of Gaia and came to inhabit his other form, here in Spira. The dog you just seen was Slepnir, only in his other form. Gaia, Slepnir is a six-legged Horse. Spira, he is a dog." **He paused for a moment, looking back at the spot where Yojimbo, or Odin, had been defeated again. **"As for why I am here, I sensed Odin's presence and felt a darkness coming from him. There is something sinister at work in this place. The Summons, or Aeons, as you call them here, they restless and feeling darkness within them. Something......" **The red giant began to growl. **"Something is haunting them, not letting them rest. When I sensed my brother's troubled spirit, I came to help him."** He looked back at Squall, who was frowning deeply. **"Beware, humans. Something evil is troubling the spirits of good. They are going to be very testy." **He warned them before a sudden burst of wind exploded all around him and vanished, leaving all six of the young fighters even more puzzled than before.

Slowly, they glanced at one another before going to stand over the huge gap in the ground from where Yojimbo had come from. It was just like the one from Bahamut's chamber. A deep, dark, massive hole leading deep into the world with pyreflies swirling out and in.

"Hello?!" Rikku called into it.

"Careful. Someone might answer." Paine warned the blonde, causing her to whimper.

With a deep sigh, Yuna turned away and left the chamber. Everyone was quick to join after her. No one spoke as they found the scared tourist outside, waiting just like Irvine had told him to. They didn't say a word as they lead him out of the cavern, letting the fresh airbrush against their skin again.

It troubled Zell a little too much. He didn't like what Gilgamesh had warned them about. If it had that guy actually appearing in Spira to taking care of his so called brother in spirit, there must have been something really bad going on. Gilgamesh had actually appeared just to take out his own spirit brother to help them. And he didn't do it very often unless it was a very powerful enemy.

"I think I want to go check up on Kimahri. Since we're nearby." Yuna suddenly said, once they were thanked several times by the people they had rescued. She sounded pretty worried and Zell was sure that if she went to see the large blue felinish warrior, she might be put at ease a little. He felt as if seeing the big guy would ease his mind a little too. So might as well go and see him since they were at the foot of the mountain.

So everyone nodded and started to head up to the mountain, thoughts of Gilgamesh's words still troubling their minds.

However, getting up to the Ronso Village, it was very clear to every one of the young fighters that all of the Ronso were very tense. Some were growling and whispering to one another, looking like they were psyching their selves up for something. They sure looked like they were getting ready for something big. Some were even sharpening spears. That did not look good at all.

Frowning, all six of them walked right over to where Kimahri was standing with a female, both looking around with unease. And when the big guy saw his young friends, he looked even more worried.

"Hey, Kim!" Zell said, raising a hand into the air before glancing around. "What's going on here?"

Kimahri only shook his head as he glanced around, his ears pressed against his head as if something was irritating them badly. He wasn't looking too happy, that was for sure. "Yuna must leave. Ronso Youth use force." He told them, sounding very grave. "Seek vengeance for fallen Ronso. Garik lead angry Ronso youth. Decide to take revenge on Guado. Garik go to battle. Now Garik climb peak, tell mountain battle plan."

Zell, Yuna and Rikku's eyes widened at the sound of that. They had to admit to their selves that they were still a little annoyed with the Guado for siding with Seymour but this was getting way out of hand.

"You mean he's going to kill them?!" Zell gasped, stepping back in alarm. His answer was just a nod from his tall friend.

"And you're just gonna wait here?" Rikku asked, almost horrified.

Kimahri shook his head, still looking pretty worried but his eyes tilted upward to the tall mountain standing over them. "Garik hear voice of mountain. Garik change mind. Kimahri hope so." He said, though he didn't sound too convinced himself.

Zell shared a glance with Squall and Irvine before shaking his head. He didn't like this, not one bit. He didn't like the Guado too much because of Seymour but there was no way he could condemn them for that blue haired bastard had done to him and his friends. Especially Tromell. He didn't like the old Guado too much but out of the entire race, he did respect him the most. And he could not even think of him getting kicked. "We can't let Garik do that! Kill a whole race off!"

"Yeah, but Kimahri just said that Garik will change his mind if he hears the mountain, right?" Irvine asked, though he was worried too.

Paine shook her head as she glanced at all of them and even to the Ronso. "And if he doesn't?" She asked, seriously.

Kimahri just shook his head as he folded his arms. "Kimahri will stop Ronso youth." He told them, sounding only a little sure.

Squall frowned but slowly shook his head. He didn't like the sound of this any more than the others did. But to imagine Kimahri taking all of them by himself, he didn't think it could be done. "You can't do it by yourself. That would be crazy." He remarked.

The Ronso Elder just heaved a sigh before flicking his tail a little as he looked right into Squall's eyes. "Elder Kimahri have no choice." He simply told them.

Both Zell and Rikku looked at one another, very worried. They knew Kimahri was tough but he was the smallest Ronso of the entire tribe. If all of the Ronso youth ganged up on him......but would they seriously do that? Would they seriously gang up on Kimahri after all he had done for them? "Yunie, this isn't good!" The blonde Al Bhed remarked, looking at her cousin.

Frowning, Paine glanced around at Yuna, Rikku and Zell, noting of how worried they looked. She even seen how concerned the Ronso was looking and they didn't always show their emotions. Her amberish red eyes flickered up to the mountain pass before she looked back at the others. "There's still time. Should we follow them?" She asked, looking directly at Yuna.

For a moment, everyone looked at her in surprise before looking at one another. They almost questioned it themselves. Could they seriously climb the mountain after Garik and stop him? To think about even saving the Guado race......it actually burned with determination within them. So each and every one of them slowly nodded before looking at Kimahri, while it was Yuna who took a step towards her former Guardian. "We're going up. Maybe we can reason with him." She told the Ronso Elder.

Kimahri merely frowned as he looked into her eyes, considering it. He didn't look like he was going to agree for a moment but then glancing over at Zell and seeing the determined look on his face, he then nodded. "If Yuna go, Kimahri think Garik listen. Maybe." He told them. "If not, Kimahri deal with Garik."

Slowly, everyone nodded as they turned and ran towards the mountain pass. They knew it was going to be a rough climb but they had to reach the summit and stop Garik before it was too late. If they did not do it, a whole race would be wiped out. That was something that none of them could allow.

It was a rough climb as they thought but eventually they found some sort of short cut, thanks to a few young Ronso along the path. It lead them straight into the mountain and up to the top where they found Garik on a large ledge, looking up at the starry skies. A roaring wind was sweeping across the mountain, making it very cold but at the moment, no one cared about the chill. They only looked right at Garik and two of the Ronso youth, watching as they growled and roared into the sky, as if trying to speak to the mountain. But as soon as the six joined them, they turned their eyes onto them.

"What are you doing, catman?" Irvine asked, his hand resting on his shotgun and giving the Ronso a look.

Growling at him, Garik just shook his head as he looked around at the six as they spread out a little, standing between him and the cavern leading back through the mountain. "Ronso hold anger no longer. Ronso youth fearless. Go to battle with Guado!" He growled.

Yuna frowned at him but held her head up high as she could. "And if I ask you not to go?" She asked, gently.

The Ronso all scoffed at her words and kept their head high and their sharp horns higher. They looked like they just wanted to laugh harshly at Yuna. "Mountain tell Ronso to go!" He snarled.

Glancing around at one another, the Gullwings and the SeeDs began pulling out their weapons and readying them. They were not going to let Garik get away with this. Yuna kept a rather serious face as she pulled out one of her guns and trained it onto the Ronso. "What if you can't go?" She asked, almost coolly.

"What makes you think that we will let you go destroy the Guado, Garik? Killing them just because of what Seymour did.....that's not right!" Zell said firmly, tightening his fighting gloves before punching his fists together. "I know how angry you must be but we won't let you do this!"

Garik snarled at them, throwing his head back higher as he began crouching a little. "Summoner not hold Ronso angry with puny arms!" He growled.

Squall swiped the air next to him with his Lionheart before holding it up firmly before him. He kept a very stoic look on his face as he met the large felinish man's large yellow eyes. "We're not going to let you pass, Garik, and destroy an entire race. That is genocide and that's not something that should ever be permitted." He said, his voice very calm.

Yuna merely nodded as she held her guns tightly within her hands. She was going to stay strong with this and she wasn't going to waver at all. "If I do, you will stop this talk of vengeance." She told him firmly.

"Very well, but Garik never fall!" Garik snarled as he lashed out his arms, brandishing his sharp claws.

"Somebody's a few spheres short of a Garment Grid." Rikku muttered as she twirled her hand blades and steadied herself.

Snorting with humor, Paine did the same as Squall and held her sword high in front of her. She merely glanced over at her blonde friend. "Typical Ronso." She said.

"Good point. But I was talking about Yunie." Rikku added as she quickly snapped into a stance with her blades held high.

No one else had time to say anything else as they snapped their full attention onto the three Ronso, who were snarling and growling at them as they prepared their selves to fight the six. It almost made all of the them, Gullwings and SeeDs feel bad that they outnumbered the three. That is until one of the Ronso came close to slicing Zell open. The Martial Artist barely had time to back flip away from him before spinning quickly on his palm, lashing out a foot. His foot smashed against the Ronso youth's face, sending him staggering back with a painful yowl. Followed after Zell's kick, Rikku was lunging around to behind the Ronso, slashing into his back.

With the other Ronso, both Irvine and Paine were actually working together in trying to pin him down into a trap. The cowboy was shooting at him with his Exterior, drawing him further back towards a rocky wall while the gothic swordswoman was pushing with her sword.

It went the same with Yuna and Squall when it came to Garik. Both of them were pretty much doing the same as Irvine and Paine were doing. It was a little tougher than they thought though. Compared to the other two, Garik was a stronger and more skilled opponent. He was also very fast, dodging the flying bullets from Yuna's gun and avoiding Squall's Lionheart gunblade. He snarled when the dark commander clipped him, turning sharply to slice at him.

Luckily for Squall, he was not slow at all. He quickly jumped back, avoiding the sharp nails easily before holding up a clawed hand in front of his face as he called forth a Fire spell and throwing it at the Ronso.

It wasn't even long before the six had defeated the Ronso warriors, nearly knocking out the first two and then working on Garik. He was just way too fast and strong for Yuna and Squall alone, causing the other four to jump in and trap him between all of them. Soon enough, Zell had the Ronso warrior on his knee, keeping his powerful arms trapped behind his back and both of the dark sword wielders and the blonde double blader holding their sharp weapons around his neck, all the while the two gunners were pointing their arms right at him.

"Enough vengeance, Garik!" Yuna said sharply.

Squall nodded as he kept his Lionheart right next to the Ronso's neck, yet did not harm him at all. He was still looking stoic as ever as he kept his eyes on Garik. "The path of vengeance will only be your undoing. Killing a whole race of people just because of one's wrong doing is not right. Give it up." He said coldly.

Garik's reply to his words were just a growl but he then he nodded as he looked up at Yuna. "Ronso keep word. Yuna defeat Garik in battle. Garik honor Yuna's wish. Not go to battle." He told her.

Everyone hesitated for only a moment before they pulled all their weapons away from their defeated opponent. Zell was the last to let go of him though, stepping back to let the large feline warrior stand up and nod to the other two Ronso, who pretty much limped their way towards the cave to go back down to the Ronso village. They all watched Garik though as he shook himself off before moving away from them, looking up at the night sky. He looked pretty sour about losing to them but he was calming down at least.

"Thank you." Yuna felt obligated to say.

Garik merely glanced at her before shaking his head and heading towards the cavern. He didn't say anything for a moment, stopping at the mouth before glancing back. "Garik not need thanks. Garik underestimate Yuna. Garik now understand he is weak in battle. Garik wait. Destroy Guado after he becomes better warrior." He growled before leaving them.

Quite irritated, all six just stared after him with sour looks on their faces. They still couldn't believe that there was still so much hate within Garik's heart. Sooner or later, he was going to try again. "Damn. You'd think that guy would learn." Irvine grumbled as he pushed his hat back a little.

"Ah, just you wait." Zell grumbled, himself. He folded his arms and shifted his weight as he continued to look at the mouth of the cave where Garik left them in. "Garik's gonna try again and it's going to be Kimahri to beat his ass. I really hope that I'm there when it happens. Cause I want to see the look on Garik's face when the big blue guy lays him down."

Slowly, one by one, everyone had to admit it but they wanted to see it too. Even Yuna. If Garik was going to be that stubborn and keep on a blood path for revenge, they all wanted to see Kimahri be the one to reckon with him. It was going to happen sooner or later. But at least for now, the Gullwings and the SeeDs had saved an entire race from being destroyed.


End file.
